Since I am a single girl, I had to put my thinking cap on for this one. I began where I always do, digging through my magazines and cookbooks, looking for healthier alternatives to chicken nuggets and macaroni out of a box that kids would want to eat up. Boy, did I find some fun recipes...so many that I may have to do a few of these posts over the summer. First up is an old school favorite: Sloppy Joes.
Not Quite Cafeteria Food
This surprising find came from a Cook's Illustrated issue on light and healthy meals. At 310 calories, kid favorites are loaded with lots of good flavors and even some vegetables they won't even know they're eating. By using 6 ounces of button mushrooms, you are cutting the calories and fat. The mushrooms also add a nice meaty flavor that the kids won't even notice as something healthy. Just to put it in comparable terms, a cheeseburger from McDonald's, you know the little one that comes in a Happy Meal, is packed with 300 calories and I will spare you the details of how many grams of saturated fat are in these little suckers. So you see, this is definitely a healthy meal option that is far more filling and much healthier!
Note: For a meatier flavor, use Cremini mushrooms instead of white button mushrooms. They won't notice the difference.
Sloppy Joes (adapted from Cook's Illustrated)
Ingredients:6 oz. white button mushrooms
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 onion, minced
1-1/4 teaspoons chili powder
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
10 oz. lean ground beef
Ground pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns
Preparation:
Heat the oil to a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion to pan and cook until softened, 8 to 12 minutes. Combine mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of salt with softened onions. Cover and cook until mushrooms are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover and increase the heat to medium-high, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned, 8 to 12 minutes.
Return mushroom mixture to the skillet. Stir in chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce, ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and cider vinegar. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, wrap the hamburger buns in some aluminum foil. Place on a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat oven to about 300 degrees. You just want to warm the buns and let them get a little crunchy, don't let them dry out!
Add the beef and simmer, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove buns from the oven (yes, you can giggle too...I did) and divide the mixture among the buns. Serve to cheering crowds and enjoy!
I had a salad alongside my sandwich, but you could also try baked polenta fries, roasted potato wedges, or a bowl of tomato soup, if you're looking for a side dish. These are some seriously filling sandwiches, and they totally hit the spot. Serves 4.
On Monday, after waking up late due to a power outage, I ended up working from home. it was a cold, drizzly day ripe for some soup eating. Again, I found another cool kid-friendly recipe that is quite easy. I used the remaining 6 ounces of ground beef left over from sloppy joe night to make the meatballs for this soup.
Tomato and Meatball Soup (adapted from Cook's Illustrated Light & Healthy 2011)
Ingredients:Meatballs
1 slice high-quality white sandwich bread torn into quarters
1/4 cup whole milk
8 ounces ground beef
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 medium garlic clove, minced and pressed through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, minced and pressed
4 cups chicken broth
1-28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup ditalini pasta
salt and ground pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish
Serves 4...if you feel like sharing. This will make every member of the family happy!
Mash bread and milk together until they turn into a bit of a paste. Let is sti for a few minutes so that the bread can soak up some more of the milk. Add ground beef (or chicken or turkey or pork...you get the idea),Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano and mix thoroughly to combine. Pinch off 2 teaspoon-size pieces of the mixture, roll firmly into balls, and arrange on rimmed baking sheet; you will have about 16 meatballs (i ende dup with 20). Cover with plastic and let cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While the meatballs are firming up in the fridge, heat oil in a large pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, carrot and celery and cook until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds or so. Stir in broth and diced tomatoes with their juice, bring to simmer, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Puree soup in pot with an immersion blender, or alternatively, in small batches in a blender. Return to pot. Cover and bring soup to simmer.
Stir in pasta, then gently add meatballs and continue to simmer, uncovered, until pasta is tender and meatballs are thoroughly cooked, about 12 to 15 more minutes. Off heat, simmer with salt and pepper to taste and serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top! Shh...don't tell them it's tomato soup all glammed up!
Meal Mash-Up
What kids doesn't love pizza? And tacos? Okay, at last where I'm from taco night was always a winner. Browsing the lovely Pioneer Woman's blog the other day, she posted a recipe that had my eyes popping and my taste buds dancing...we're talking about Taco Pizza. Considering how warm it's been here lately, some of the other recipe contenders for this final slot were just not the right fit...but this combination of a crisp thin pizza crust topped with mashed black beans, cheese, cold, crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes and a drizzle of a sour cream sauce sounding heavenly. I was sold and hope you are too. I made some modifications, but only slight ones and have a few suggestions for those of you short on time, too!
Taco Pizza (adapted from http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/)
Ingredients:1 pre-made pizza dough ball from your grocer's bakery counter
1 can of black beans
1-8 oz bag of shredded cheese
1 head of green leaf lettuce shredded
several cherry tomatoes, diced
1 can sliced black olives (if you like)
2 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
1/4 cup sour cream
hot sauce of your choice (I like Cholula)
Tips:
If you are looking for a way to get some more protein in there, you could cook up some ground turkey or beef, about a pound would do just fine, and add a little salsa in there to get those extra veggies in and use the rest of the taco seasoning packet for more flavor. As far as timesavers go, if you don't have the time or patience to deal with raw pizza dough, buy yourself a prepared flatbread or a pre-made pizza shell, like "Boboli." Additionally, instead of mashing the black beans yourself, buy a can of vegetarian refried beans, heat in the microwave until they have loosened up enough to spread on the dough. Season as desired and you're one step closer to taco pizza nirvana.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, heat black beans over medium heat and season with 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning. I like the Low Sodium variety of McCormick's Taco Seasoning. While beans are heating up, use potato masher to mash up beans.
Sprinkle some flour on a board or a clean countertop and roll out pizza dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle a little cornmeal on a baking sheet (to help dough from sticking to pan) and place dough on sheet. I used a whole wheat dough, but if you can't slip that one by the kids, stick with the original.
In the meantime, chop up your vegetables, whatever your kids like to eat, and mix up the sour cream drizzle. I like Cholula hot sauce for stuff like this. I used about 2 tablespoons, but you might like more or less depending on your heat tolerance.
Remove pizza from oven and allow to cool slightly. Then have fun with your toppings: sprinkle on some lettuce, a little green onions, a few chunks of tomato, maybe a few more shreds of cheese or a little drizzle of the sour cream stuff. This is seriously delicious, and with my first veggie share chipping in here with the green leaf lettuce, nothing beats it! It's fresh, spicy, healthy and packed with flavor. Give it a try!
Finishing Touches
While I was on the train home with my colleague and friend, we were talking about this very blog post that I had started writing. I was trying to come up with a dessert option and he mentioned his wife makes their kids frozen smoothie pops. Instantly, I thought of those yogurt push-ups in the cardboard tubes my mom used to buy when I was a kid. What a great idea! Finding a few recipe options that would freeze well, however, was a little trickier. I did come across this one and I have to say I am enjoying it. If your kids are not fans of citrus, there are lots of other recipes out there on the web. Maybe I'll whip up some berry delights when the blueberries come in!
Orange-Banana Smoothie Pops
Ingredients:1 cup nonfat plain (or vanilla) yogurt
2/3 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
2 bananas
zest of one lime
1 tbs lime juice
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze overnight until solid.
These are quite delicious little popsicles! And for 72 calories a pop, you can't feel guilty about enjoying one yourself or giving them to your kids. If your kids aren't crazy about flecks of color in their food, just omit the lime zest. They will still taste great.
I had so much fun with this homework assignment that I have more recipes I plan to share with you in future installments.
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