Not Your Usual Breakfast for Dinner

It's been forever since I shared a recipe!  I've been having too much fun I guess.  Time spent poolside (when it was actually hot outside), time teaching kids to cook, time having lots of fun in the Adirondack's (my fave) and now, of all things, I'm hooked on Breaking Bad.  OK, aside from one rainy Friday afternoon I'm not just sitting around watching T.V. all day, I swear.  So here we go, a whole new take on breakfast for dinner!  I found this in Better Homes and Gardens back in March and just got around to trying it last night.  They call it "Bacon & Egg Spaghetti".  No joke, we over cooked our bacon and it was still really good!  It's simple, cheap, easy, and comes in around 470 calories a serving for those keeping track.

This recipe involves a few staples that you might already have on hand...eggs,  Parmesan cheese and garlic.

Naturally, we had some chard kicking around too so we steamed some up as a side dish..gotta have your greens right?

Pre-heat your oven and chop up a piece of bread, preferably whole grain (mine was whole grain flax something or other).  You put the bread some parm and some olive oil in a food processor

and turn them into crumbs.  Spread them on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 oven for about 10 min.

Bake until nice and toasty (this is the toast part of the breakfast).

Meanwhile, cook up some bacon and some whole wheat pasta according to the directions.  This bacon was from our CSA, Side Hill Farmers and it was really good...

even if we did over cook it a tad.  We get distracted too you know!

Once it drains and cools, tear it into pieces. 

Next you'll cook up some garlic, salt and crushed red pepper.  Add the pasta, some reserved pasta water and parm to the pot and toss to coat.

Next, fry an egg for each person.  Sunny side up is the way to go I think.  We did ours over easy (habit) but they could've been runnier.

Dish up your spag, top with bread crumbs, bacon and fresh chopped chives....

When the egg mixes with everything...Mmmm.  Really good.  Does this sound a little odd to you?  Think deconstructed carbonara.  This is easier and chances are you have what you need already on hand.  We're just wondering what took us so long!

Here's the link to Bacon & Egg Spaghetti from Better Homes and Gardens, because I'm still enjoying my summer and not about to retype it at the moment ;)

Enjoy your new found breakfast for dinner!

What's Cookin'?

Wow, long time no blog.  I've been so busy teaching 10 year olds how to cook and sitting poolside (rough, I know) this summer that I've barely taken the time to take pictures let alone share recipes!  I do have a couple on hand though, so I'll try to get back in the swing of things.  I will include an Herb-Stuffed Zucchini recipe from Food TV magazine at the end of this post.  So, let me tell you about the cooking class!  I rounded up my daughter and four of her friends to be my pilot group.  I've never taught a class before so I thought I could stand to have a group I could make mistakes with.  They were awesome and I think they learned a lot, and I definitely did as well. 

Our first class started with some basics.  We talked about processed foods and whole foods.  We learned about reading labels.  They were really surprised when we talked about serving sizes.  I think many people would be too if they paid more attention to them.  We also looked at all the non-food ingredients that show up in processed foods (such as things with numbers and names we can't pronounce) and decided that less is more when it comes to that stuff.  After a our little chat we made made a nice healthy snack of Avocado Banana smoothies and chia balls.  I like to jump right in and start with something nice and green!

They whipped this little number up with no trouble at all.  We got a some practice with measurements so that was perfect. Next we made Chia Energy Bites which I found on this cool website called Super Healthy Kids.

It's a very basic recipe, no baking or cooking involved, but a good way to get the ball rolling for the next few classes.

We made one batch with unsweetened coconut and one with mini M & M's (I'm no dummy, had to make sure I wasn't going to loose them by going too healthy!).  They loved the chia bites and I think all but one really liked the smoothie.

During class number two we made a breakfast recipe from my most popular blog post ever, Cauliflower Frittata Muffins.  We made the same recipe but added a couple of strips of bacon cooked crisp and crumbled into the mixture.  We got all kinds of practice with knife skills and egg cracking on this one.  I'm pleased to report, no shells!

While the eggs were baking we whipped up a little salad dressing to put on lettuce and berries.  Always taste your food, and then wash your hands. 

While those two made dressing, these two did dishes.  That's right, if you're going to make the mess you've got to clean it up, am I right Moms?

So we were all super excited when those frittata muffins were done.  They smelled so good!

Look at what a nice job they did! These were delicious and some how it made way more than we thought (must have been the extra large eggs...).  They all got to take one home and were excited to show their moms and dads.

These are some proud little girls!

Class number three was a little less labor intensive.  We talked about making a pizza a little healthier by using part-skim mozzarella to cut down on all that grease you get when you eat pizza out.  I can't for the life of me figure out why no pizza places (at least in my area) don't use it.  It tastes just as good, just less greasy.  I guess that's why Hayden keeps telling me to open my own pizza shop.

We made this pizza using the leftovers from a nice dinner the night before.  Next time you have leftover salt potatoes and grilled chicken in the fridge, throw them on a pizza!  The girls decided they wanted spinach on the pizza because at least half of them despise broccoli.  Frankly I think my kid was the only one that ate from the half with spinach but that's ok.  They came close.  They at least thought it sounded like a good idea.

Either way they were pretty pleased.  You can tell this class took place during our monsoon season by the way they're dressed.  It's 100 degrees with the heat index as I write this now.  Crazy, crazy weather we're having this summer.

Class number four was the biggest hit of them all.  I'm super excited about that too because we made on of my favorite, easy, healthy dinners ever.  They all loved the Pasta with Carrot Walnut Sauce, I think everyone went back for seconds and asked their mom's if they could have it for dinner sometime soon.  We got to peel some carrots,

peel and chop garlic, and chop walnuts.

They used the food processor,

And mixed it all up on the stove.  They did it all except drain the pasta which they should always have a grown up do.

If you haven't tried this one yet, the time is now! So yummy.

A thumbs up for sure.  The pasta recipe was so quick that we also made a batch of Orange-Vanilla Custard to put in the ice cream maker to serve at our last class which was Ladies Night.  The girls came and cooked and the mom's stayed and ate with us.  It was lovely. They all happen to have really cool moms.

We took a little trip to the garden to pick herbs for our meal and to see what certain veggies look like while they're growing.  They tried to guess what each plant was, which is not always easy!  They minced like masters...

and chopped like champs.  (Right now there are a few mom's freaking out at the size of the knife their daughter is using...)

We made homemade tzatziki sauce.

I could eat this on everything.  Hayden practically does.  He's 9 but has a rather sophisticated palette, well, for a 9 year old anyway.  We make a good pair when it comes to food.

We also made herb stuffed zucchini boats.  Turns out every kid but my own (who helped me decide on this recipe because we thought it was a safe bet) hates zucchini. Seriously, I was in shock.  I get that some veggies are an acquired taste but zucchini?  It has a little more taste than water.  But what evs.  The ladies were excited for it so I consider that a win since it was Ladies Night and all.

We also made my favorite turkey burger which did come out a little different than usual because they only had extra-lean turkey when I was at the store.  I recommend sticking with lean but not extra lean.  They were a little firm for my taste but still delish (especially with that tzatziki sauce!).  Things got a little hectic during the burger time so there are no pictures of that process.  We were racing against the clock!

We finished it all off with a scoop of the custard that tasted just like a creamsicle. I was impressed.  I never made an ice cream that was quite as involved as that recipe was.  Now the girls are all about zesting fruit.  I love them.

All in all, cooking class was a success.  I have a little work to do before I take on some paying students but I'm sure I'll get another class going soon.  I'm doing my best to join the Food Revolution and arming kids with a little knowledge about what they eat, how to make good choices and how to make good food with good ingredients. 

Herb-Stuffed Zucchini (Food Network Magazine)

2 med zucchini
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 chopped tomato
1/4 cup mixed chopped parsley and dill
2 Tbs chopped walnuts
1 minced garlic clove
2 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Season with salt.  Combine breadcrumbs, tomato, parsley, dill, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Spoon into zucchini; drizzle with olive oil.  Bake at 425 for 25-30 min.
*We added a 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese to the mix which was an excellent addition!

Enjoy!

For The Love Of Friends and Family

So Saturday was the Paige's Butterfly run in Syracuse, our second race where we attempted to coral our friends to run or walk.  Like November's Jingle Bell run, we did pretty well I'd say.  This time of year it gets a little tricky because the kids all have sports and what not (we skipped a few things to do this but it was worth it).  I think its really great to get out there with your friends and family that you usually gather around food and drinks with to do something healthy together.  I was having fun with the photo editing so I thought I'd share a few pictures from the day.

This is my sister Ouije and I.  You've seen her before.  She's really a trooper when it comes to this stuff.  It wasn't all that long ago that she could be quoted saying things like "Running is bad for you!" an so on.  In the past couple of years she's decided that as an "older " parent (became a mom at 40) that it's time to get her butt in gear to live a nice long healthy life for her boy Chase.  We always take a pre-race photo.  In case one of us doesn't make it I suppose.  Just kidding.

This is Phoebe and her friend MacKenzie.  This was their second 5k in two weeks!  These little girls are impressive indeed.

These three cuties where geared up to run their first 3k.  Chase, Hayden and Sammi.

Here's me nearing the finish line.  I was working hard to beat last year's time, but also very focused on beating this guy.  Sometimes I just need to set my sights on someone and go for it.

Check it out, neck and neck with that guy.

Honestly, I'm not sure how its panned out but I'm pretty sure I'm beating him.

Here we have Rob, MacKenzie and Phoebe bringing it on home!  Phoebe's looking good, beat her time from Memorial day by 1 second (what are the odds?).

Here comes Ouije! Busting out the high fives for everyone.  She's such a celebrity.  Unfortunately there is no picture of Heather coming in because she was 5 seconds behind me and Melanie (who was taking pictures) had no clue where she was!  Next time Mrs. B!

Woot Woot! Here's PJ finishing his first 5k! This is a big accomplishment, especially when he had to overcome stress fractures before being able to really train for it. 

Here's MacKenzie's mom, Amy.  How does she keep her hair so cute after 3 sweaty, muggy miles?  I always have an Afro when I'm done.

I've been friends with PJ since about 5th grade.  We've never done anything healthy together until this year.  Sorry, I'm cracking myself up. Look how happy he is!

Ouije and I like to take an "after" picture too.  Just to prove we survived it.  After the 5k was the 3k walk/run.  Everybody participated in that one (except Ouije and Phoebe who were on photo duty).

Here's Haydo busting it out at the end of his 3k!

He and Nels had a pretty tight race to the finish! (Yes, Nelsy ran two races, one with each kid.)

Run Chase RUN!!!!!! I love this picture.  I'm pretty sure I need to blow it up and get it printed.

Talk about impressive.  Mike is practically a paraplegic, OK, I'm exaggerating but he has a really bad back and some days are pretty terrible.  He was supposed to walk the 3k but got caught up in all the excitement and decided to try and run.  And run he did.  Here H is meeting him for a high 5 as he nears the finish line (eating Chase's dust).

We all look pretty psyched in this picture.  Jenny's pumping her fist back there, Melanie looks pretty excited, I look like an orangutan.  Not sure what all that was...

One more for the road.  Jenny, Heather, Zoe and Sam.  Nice looking bunch!  Not sure what our next group event is, but I'm sure it will be fun and I'm sure we'll be glad we did it.  Now what are you waiting for? Go make a plan with your crew!

Aack! I almost forgot the Dance Party! Pretty funny stuff.  Gangnam Style.