Laura's Mommy Blog

Archive for the ‘Recipe Ideas’ Category

Pasta with Broccoli and Bacon

Now that I am back in shape to cook again, I thought I would try out a new recipe. I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com, which is where I get most of my recipes when I am looking for new ideas.

It was pretty easy to put together, but I wouldn’t classify it as a “quick” recipe. You have to cook and crumble the bacon to begin with, once that step is done, the rest goes pretty fast. I also added in some yellow peppers for some extra veggies.

It turned out really good and my husband and daughter both seemed to enjoy it. The bacon added a nice flavor to the sauce. Here is the link to the recipe if you would like to try it out:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pasta-with-Broccoli-and-Bacon/Detail.aspx

Tortilla Pizza

I love pizza and so does my family, but eating take-out is not always the best health option. Delivery pizza is usually saturated with oil and is very high in carbohydrates. Making your own dough can also be very time-consuming. My solution is to make them on tortilla shells. There is absolutely no work involved, you just go out and buy a package of tortillas, and you can even choose whole wheat if you want to be even healthier. Now, for the best part – you get to choose all your toppings! Here is what I like to put on my tortilla pizzas:

• mushrooms
• zucchini
• onions
• red or yellow peppers
• sundried tomatoes (yum!)
• cooked chicken
• pizza sauce
• and of course, mozzarella cheese!

If you don’t have time to bake some chicken for added protein, you can always pick up a roasted chicken at the grocery store and tear it up into pieces to add to your pizzas.

Bon appetit!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

I’ve been searching the internet lately for ideas on new recipes. It seems like we are always eating the same thing, so sometimes I like to change it up. This week I came across a recipe for Mexican Chicken Casserole. I made it tonight for dinner and it was a hit! Both my husband and daughter loved it! I have to say, it was VERY easy to make, anyone can make it. Total cooking time is about 30 minutes, so it’s great when you are trying to make a quick dinner. This recipe makes a small casserole, so if you have a large family, I would suggest doubling the recipe, except for the black beans portion. I find the recipe calls for too many beans, so I just put in however many I thought was reasonable compared to the other ingredients.

Here’s the link to the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mexican-Casserole-4/Detail.aspx

If you try it out, please let me know how you liked it!

Butternut squash is a great sidedish to add to your meals. I remember the first time I prepared squash was when I was making homemade baby food for my daughter. I had never prepared it before and when I went to the grocery store to buy it, the clerk looked at me when she was scanning it and said, “What do you do with this?” I replied, “I have no clue, but I guess I’m going to find out.” Squash was one of those foods that I always saw in the produce section, but never knew what to do with it.

Well, I’m glad I figured it out because it tastes fabulous and it is an excellent source of vitamins.  It is a complex carbohydrate that is low in fat and sodium. It is rich in vitamins A and C, and it is a good source of beta-carotene, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Kids are bound to love it because it is so tasty, and it is easy to prepare. Now that we are entering the fall/winter months, this vegetable is in season. So, now is the best time to eat it! Here is a simple way to prepare it for your meals:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut the butternut squash in two lengthwise. Make sure you use a large sharp knife for this step. It is a thick, hard vegetable to cut through, so you want to make sure you don’t have to struggle with a knife that isn’t sharp enough.
3. Spoon out the seeds from both sides of the squash and discard.
4. Place each side of the squash, flat side down, in a baking dish. Add a bit of water to cover the bottom of your dish so that the squash does not dry out while cooking.
5. Bake it in the oven for 1 hour.
6. Once baking is done, remove it from the oven and spoon out the cooked portion of the squash into a bowl.
7. Mash the squash with a fork or masher. Add a bit of margarine for flavor and voila!

Butternut squash in baking dish

Butternut squash, ready to serve

I hope everyone (at least my Canadian friends) had a great Thanksgiving! Isn’t turkey dinner the best? This year I baked some cupcakes for dessert, and I wanted to share the recipe with you. The cupcakes are called Pumpkin Chip Cupcakes, and they have pumpkin, walnuts, and chocolate chips in them. It was the first time I tried the recipe, and I have to say they turned out really great. The recipe doesn’t have any refined sugar in it, so they are not overly sweet. Any sweetness comes from honey and the icing. I got the recipe from AllRecipes.com, and here is the link to the recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Chip-Cupcakes/Detail.aspx

Pumpkin Chip Cupcakes

As you can see, I colored the icing. The icing will come out off-white if you follow the recipe, but just add a bit of food coloring and it can be whatever you’d like!