Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I love giving my kids this recipe because it's full of healthy stuff and my kids love it because it has chocolate chips in it!! My good friend visited and even her picky kids ate this! They called it "chocolate bread".  These are more work than some of the other muffins so make a double batch and freeze some for lunches or quick breakfasts or snacks!

Wet Ingredients:
2 cups zucchini, shredded and drained of extra liquid (I don't peel mine but you can if you want)
1 cup carrot, shredded and drained of extra liquid
2 eggs
2 small bananas, smushed
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup sugar (adjust up or down to preference)

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups white wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
chocolate chips, to preference

Ingredients:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Prepare your muffin or loaf pan by spraying, butter and flouring or using liners.  Then I chop my zucchini, put it in the food processor, and pulse until small pieces.  I then squeeze it out with a cheese cloth and repeat with the carrots (the carrots hold a lot less water so I do them separately).  Do squeeze out the water so you get fluffy muffins or loaves.  Then I put the zucchini and carrots in a bowl and combine with the rest of the wet ingredients.  In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (we don't add the chocolate chips until the end - my kids like to put them in each well).  Combine the two by hand so as not to overmix with a mixer and pour the batter into your prepared pan.  For muffins these took about 18 minutes but check for doneness with a cake tester which should come out clean (minus the chocolate!) once they are cooked.

Adapted from:  https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/incredible-carrot-zucchini-muffins-368242#activity-feed

Banana Carrot Bread

Banana Carrot Bread

My kids love these for breakfast (add peanut butter and a side of fruit), plain as a snack or with a little butter on them straight from the oven! They are nut free so I can send to school as a guilt-free, safe for the classroom healthy snack.  There are always complaints when the last one is gone!

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups white wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:
3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Other:
2 medium bananas, ripe
2 cups grated carrots (I buy shredded and throw half to 3/4 of the bag without measuring into the food processor.  Whatever that makes is what I add to the recipe).

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray/butter and flour/or use liners to prepare a loaf or muffin pan.

Whisk dry ingredients together: flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl.

In another large bowl whisk together the yogurt and honey. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and stir to combine.  Add 1 banana and stir until combined.  Continue alternating, ending on the flour mixture.  Then add grated carrots and finish stirring with a wood spoon.

Cook for 15 minutes for mini-loaves - checking for doneness with a tester until it comes out clean. Cooking time can depend on the oven.

I have much better luck with this bread as muffins or mini loaves than as large loaves (the inside tends not to fully cook).  For mini loaves these took about 15 minutes - but check yours after 12 and every few minutes for doneness.  A full loaf takes almost an hour.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for several minutes before removing to finish cooling directly on a cooling rack.  These can be kept at room temperature for several days or frozen and defrosted later.

Adapted from: https://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/carrot-banana-bread/

Turkey meatballs

I haven't been a fan of too many homemade turkey meatball recipes.  These are tasty, easy and kid approved!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs ground turkey

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 - 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat)

2 Tbsp tomato sauce (I used Victoria since I was opening it for something else)

parmesan cheese - I didn't measure - 1/2 - 3/4 cup grated

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, diced

2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1/2 - 1 tsp dried parsley

seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano (I didn't measure these)

Mix all the ingredients except turkey and eggs.  Stir to combine, then add the beaten eggs and then turkey. Combine until even distributed using clean hands.

On a tray lined with parchment roll meatballs similarly sized and place about an inch apart.  Put in a 400 degree pre-heated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with sauce and spaghetti, with veggies, on a salad or a sandwich.  These are so versatile!

Ropa Vieja

Ropa Vieja

Ingredients:

2 lbs chuck
3 small or 1 large clove(s) garlic

1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper sliced into strips
15 oz tomato sauce
15 oz diced tomatoes
4 oz can diced chilis
1 cup beef broth
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon white vinegar
3/4 tsp garlic powder


Directions:

Put a little oil in the pan, sprinkle both sides of the meat with salt and pepper and sear the meat on all sides.  Add some minced garlic to the pan and cook while searing the meat, careful not to burn it. 

Put the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onion and pepper strips, chilis, beef broth and spices and vinegar into the crockpot.  Combine and top with the seared meat.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Serve with rice or shredded cheese and sour cream.  Both kids ate two bowls of this!

Creamy tomato soup

This recipe took a lot of tweaking to get right but now it is a favorite! I really didn't feel good feeding my kids the many ingredient processed canned tomato soup to which you have to add water.  I wanted a simple homemade soup that could freeze so we could have it for lunches anytime. This is it!

It is made from all natural real ingredients and is kid approved.  

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup diced onion
3 "shakes" garlic powder
4 1/2 cups chicken broth (you can use vegetable too).  I used homemade but you can use any kind.
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour (or arrowroot starch for gluten free)
15 ounce can good quality diced tomatoes, including juice
15 ounce can good quality tomato sauce
1 tsp honey
1 cup milk (I used whole cow's milk)
1 Tbsp brown sugar (this was essential to ensuring the soup wasn't bitter)

Directions:
Melt butter in a large stock pot.  Saute the onions over medium heat for about five minutes until soft.  Lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic powder.  Then stir in the chicken broth and flour (or arrowroot starch).  Add tomatoes in juices, tomato sauce and honey.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the 30 minutes is up, puree soup with an immersion blender until smooth (or transfer to a blender in batches).  Add milk and stir until well blended.

The soup was a little bitter so I added 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, stirrd and raised the heat and waited five minutes before adding a second 1/2 Tbsp and heating an additional five minutes.  This helped the bitterness and the soup was great.  A bit of honey and brown sugar in a large vat of soup that my kids will still eat is definitely preferable to what comes in a can of tomato soup.

Whole Grain Delicious Pancakes

This recipe makes a LOT of pancakes.  This picture was what was left AFTER four of us ate the rest for breakfast. If you don't want leftovers then a) you're crazy and b) just half the recipe.  I like a lot leftover for easy weekday breakfasts.  If you half the recipe use just the oil OR just the yogurt. (You could also use 10 Tbsp of just one or the other for the double batch). 

Ingredients:

Dry:

4 cups white wheat flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp sugar

Wet:

5 Tbsp oil

5 heaping Tbsp plain greek yogurt

3 cups milk (we used 2 %)

4 eggs, beaten

Directions:  In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk together. Add the milk and then use the measuring cup to crack and beat your eggs. Add those and the yogurt and/or oil and stir well to combine with a wooden spoon (without overstirring).  Prepare your griddle (heat and spray) and spoon a heaping spoonful on - our griddle makes six at a time.  Watch them for the right time to flip - for this recipe if you wait til they bubble they will overcook.  The ones in the center of the griddle by the heat also cook faster.  Don't stack the hot pancakes or they will get soggy. I stack after they cool a bit.  Making all these took a little while but we had a ton leftover. 

Enjoy!