Dill Pickle Tartar Sauce Recipe

April 11, 2012 by 6 Comments

We love fish in our house and we try to have it once a week. There’s never left overs, and rarely do I get seconds. My kids eat it so fast I’d be lucky to finish my own plate before they are already asking for more.

An easy way to change up fish in our house is trying different sauces to go along with it. It’s easy to make Tartar sauce, and really all you do is add things in there till it’s to your liking. The basic tartar sauce is mayo, mustard and some sort of juice, whether it be lime or lemon, even pickle juice. Your seasoning is hot sauce or pepper or capers. All you would do is mix it up gently and chill it before you serve. Pretty easy to dress up some fish and each time you make it you can spice it up to what you want that day. This is one of my kid’s favorites.

Dill [Read more…]

Filed Under: cooking, food, recipes

Getting Your Kids to Eat Their Vegetables

April 4, 2012 by 7 Comments

Last year, it was reported on CNN.com that only 22% of children between the ages of 2 and 5 are currently
meeting the government’s regulations when it comes to vegetable consumption. This isn’t good news
because we all know that especially when it comes to a child’s development, vegetables are a vital
nutritional resource; they’re a building block chocked full of the vitamins and minerals that they need to
become healthy and strong individuals.

However, if you have a child, you also know that if they don’t like veggies, it can be an extreme battle of
the wills when it comes to getting them to eat them. The truth of the matter is that kids don’t care much
about what all of the research says. All they know is that “Vegetables are icky.” For them, it’s just that
simple.

If you’re someone who’s at your wits end when it comes to getting your kids to eat their vegetables, here
are some ideas to try.

Do some taste tests. Although there a few, it’s rare that children hate all vegetables. In other words,
if they don’t like peas, they may like carrots. If they won’t want squash, they may be open to some corn
on the cob. Don’t get immediately discouraged because the salad that you make continually remains on
their plate every time you make it. Get creative with your presentation methods. Hold a taste test contest
at home where a first prize ribbon is awarded to the vegetable that your child likes the most (and eats
the most of). There are a couple of benefits to this. One, they had to eat at least a spoonful of a couple of
vegetables to know which one they liked and two, they got rewarded for actually finishing a portion of
their favorite one.

Let them create some of the menus with you. If you’ve ever gone back and forth with your child
about why they should finish the food on their plate, before long, you may notice that it’s not so much
about the vegetables, but them feeling like they are being forced against their will to do something that
they don’t want to do. In the wise words of [Read more…]

Filed Under: cooking, food, kids

Vegetable Medley Pasta Recipe

March 14, 2012 by 9 Comments

This pasta recipe is super easy. The best part about it is you can change it up however you want. I like tossing in different vegetables whenever I make it. Spinach one night, next time broccoli, maybe peas and carrots. Don’t have any of those on hand? Have asparagus? Add that in! Really simply, really quick and let’s not forget the kids love it too.

Vegetable Medley Pasta
Ingredients
2 cups dry whole-wheat bow tie pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic minced
16oz of vegetables. – This can be a frozen bag of peas and carrots, frozen broccoli, fresh asparagus or spinach
2 cups chicken broth low sodium or homemade,
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoons pepper
Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile heat the olive oil and garlic over medium heat in a large sauce pan. Cook until [Read more…]
Filed Under: cooking, recipes

Quick Dinner Rolls- Recipe

March 8, 2012 by 10 Comments

This recipe is pretty fun to make with the kids. It looks like a biscuit, cooks fast like a biscuit, yet isn’t a biscuit at all. It’s called a Quick Dinner Roll. You can whip this up in under twenty minutes and serve it along with dinner not ten minutes later. Fast enough for you?
Not only is it quick to throw these rolls together, they taste great and all you really need to know how to do is mix. It’s that easy! Have the kids help mixing it up and drop spoonfuls into muffin tins for a really quick addition to the dinner table.

My kids adore them so much I always make two batches!

Quick Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

1 package of active dry yeast

Filed Under: cooking, recipes

Apple Pie Recipe

March 6, 2012 by 7 Comments
When my son started eating solid food, I could not get him to eat enough fruits and vegetables. I tricked him by adding them into recipes. One of his favorite recipes is the Apple pie. I cook it at least once a month. It is an easy and healthy snack.
My son helps me by chopping the apples or mixing some of the dry ingredients. When kids help you preparing a dish, they will be eager to taste it and eat it. The following recipe is inspired from my grandmother. She makes everything from scratch: from the crust to the filling.

Ingredients
Crust
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1 Tablespoon of sugar
  • 1 cup of butter

  • Filed Under: baking, cooking, recipes

DaVinci Gourmet Syrups- Review and W!N Yours Here!

January 11, 2012 by 2 Comments

Flavor syrups are something you may have seen in your grandparents cupboard growing up. Maybe vanilla and hazelnut. Looked interesting enough, but didn’t taste that great when drank straight from the bottle.
Well as I am sure you are aware this is not the way to try something like this.

DaVinci Gourmet Syrups are the same premise but much different execution. these syrups can be used for any purpose you can think of. Add them to seltzer water to make Italian sodas. Drizzle a bit over some ice cream for a different kick. Even add it to your coffee as a change up from the regular french vanilla flavor.
There are quite a few different flavors depending on your taste.

There are the Classic flavors, made with all natural cane sugar. Specially formulated to be mixed with milk and also hold up to high heat. These classic flavors range from raspberry to vanilla, English Toffee and even watermelon.

Next up are the Sugar Free line of syrups. These are a bit less varied then the classic, but instead of cane sugar, they use Splenda as the sweeter of choice, thus leading to a zero calorie alternative to their heavier cousins. The flavors for these are also quite varied from banana, to praline and everything in between.

All Natural Flavors are [Read more…]

Filed Under: baking, cooking, food, giveaway, review

Nasoya Tofu review- and you can get some free here as well!

December 11, 2011 by 151 Comments

There are those out there who are not adventurous eaters.
Perhaps a meat and potatoes family. Well, its time to start thinking outside the box and try some alternatives. How about some Asian food, and I don’t mean the greasy Chinese food down the street. I mean home cooked Asian food that has ingredients in it that you trust and know are good for you.

A good place to start is Tofu. Take a look at Nasoya Tofu U. Here they teach simple recipes and techniques for using tofu in both everyday dishes as well as dishes with an Asian flair. A good example of an everyday use of Tofu is the stuffed manicotti where instead of ricotta cheese you can use soft tofu. I can honestly say next time we go food shopping we will be trying this. Tofu is a misunderstood ingredient. Tofu is a food made of soy beans, which when cooked absorbs the flavor of whatever else it is cooked with. If making garlic stir fry it will accent and accentuate the garlic instead of adding a flavor to the bunch.

In general, there are two types of tofu- firm and soft. And guess what? Firm is of a thicker texture then soft, and is mostly used as a meat substitute, the soft can be used as a thickener, or as we saw before, a ricotta cheese substitute. 🙂

These very broad terms are pretty much what kind of tofu you can find in your average supermarket, but if you are looking for a tofu to act as more of a meat substitute take a look at Fim Tofu Plus. This is sprouted tofu which has more protein and also fortified with vitamins B2, B6, B12, D and Calcium. This is the one I picked up today- my son is sprouting like a weed and all the vitamins I can put into him, I am going to! LOL

We used some of our Nosoya Tofu Plus tofu and made Tofu Pad Thai. This is a Thai dish with peanuts and noodles, which is a little bit spicy and quite delicious. The tofu is a great substitute for chicken in this dish.
Get creative and have fun!

Want to win some free Tofu Coupons? Here is how to enter!

Mandatory entry
You must be a public follower on Google Friend Connect or G+1
Leave me your email so I can contact you if you win.
2 entries if you are doing both 🙂

Extra Entries
Leave a separate comment for each entry

– Like Nasoya on FaceBook -Facebook is in no way sponsoring this contest- Never required, always appreciated! 🙂

– Follow Nasoya on [Read more…]

Filed Under: cooking, food, giveaway, review

Caring for your Cast Iron Cookware

December 10, 2011 by 7 Comments

With hundreds of kitchen new kitchen gadgets launched every year, you might be surprised to hear that one
of the most popular pieces of kitchen hardware is one of the oldest, cast iron cookware. The heat retention
properties, coupled with their adaptability and longevity (some brands even offer a lifetime guarantee). To
ensure that you get the best out of your frying pan, casserole or any other cast iron kitchenware you might
have then follow these simple dos and don’ts.

Remove all labels and bathe your lovely new Le Creuset in hot soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly.
If non-stick, rub with cooking oil to condition.
Unless boiling water or cooking a stock or sauce, use medium and low heats, even when frying or
searing. Once the pan’s hot, turn down to a lower setting, as cast-iron retains heat.
You can put your cast-iron cookware in the oven at any temperature, if the handles are cast-iron or
you have stainless steel knobs. Just make sure you use oven mitts or a thick, dry cloth when touching
the handles or lids, as they’ll be super hot.

Use wooden, heat resistant plastic or silicone stirrers and cooking utensils. You can occasionally use
metal, but don’t knock on the rim as this damages the enamel.
Allow pots or pans to cool before washing and make [Read more…]

Filed Under: cooking