Snowballs!

Our picture book for the week has been Snowballs by Lois Ehlert.  E has LOVED this book and every time we pull it out to read, we have to go through it at least three times in a row!  Good thing it's a short book!

As part of our Winter Wonderland curriculum (through Wee Folk Art), we made snowball cookies to go with the story.  They are actually Russian Teacakes, but they really do look like snowballs!

The recipe:

1 c butter
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
3/4 c finely chopped nuts (we used pecans)
2 1/4 c flour (we used half white and half whole wheat)
1/4 t salt
extra powdered sugar for rolling

First, mix the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Then mix in the flours and salt, add the chopped nuts last.

Roll the dough into little balls.  Bake at 400* for 10-12 minutes.  They don't spread so just use one cookie sheet and squish them all on there.

Once baked, roll them in powdered sugar.

Let cool and roll again in powdered sugar.  Enjoy!

Freezer Cooking Resources

Recently, I've been asked a lot about my freezer cooking.  I LOVE how easy it makes my days.  I've had several questions about how it all works and I thought I'd write about a couple of good resources for freezer cooking that I have found.

Freezer cooking, once a month cooking, whatever you want to call it, is where you prepare meals in advance, freeze them, and they are ready to pull out and reheat when you need them.  With a busy 2 year old running around, and the fact that I work part time a few nights a week, means that I really appreciate NOT having to chop veggies or brown ground beef every night.  My husband (bless his heart) is also NOT a chef of any kind.  In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion he's actually afraid of my kitchen.  So I can't count on him to whip up a meal when I'm tired or at work for the evening.  Enter freezer cooking.  I plan and spend one day each month or so (usually about every 5-6 weeks) cooking ALL. DAY. LONG.  When I am done, I have a whole month's worth of meals in my freezer, ready to be reheated for a quick dinner.

I started freezer cooking with 30 Day Gourmet.  I like this method because it's very organized.  I got the book from my library and in the back are all kinds of worksheets and spreadsheets.  Worksheets make me happy.  There are also a lot of recipes online on their website.  I don't like this method because the recipes are not particularly healthy - heavy on "cream-of" soups and breadcrumbs.

I found a couple more books for freezer cooking by some local authors:
Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer.  I like this method because the recipes are healthier, and a bit more adventurous than plain old casseroles.  Things I don't like about it are that I've found some of the recipes don't really reheat all that well.

Most recently, I found onceamonthmom.com, and I am really liking it.  The recipes are pretty healthy (with a few tweaks of my own) and easy to prepare.  I LOVE that all the planning work is done for me!  Every month there is a new menu with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The grocery list is done for me and the "game plan" so I know who needs to do what on our big cooking day (I usually cook with a friend).  The only thing I found is that the grocery list seemed to be off for this month.  We ended up with 2 huge bags of cheese left over and didn't have enough green chilis.  I think I'll do my own grocery list for next month.

In the Kitchen

E wanted to help me out in the kitchen today, so we made Giant Breakfast Cookies from Heavenly Homemakers.  I was very excited to try them, and as I anticipated they were (and are) soooo good!  I followed the option of soaking my grains before baking the cookies - I've heard a lot about that recently.  Apparently, it is supposed to make the grains easier to digest and be healthier for you.  Frankly, little E can use all the digestion help she can get.  Other than the time waiting for the grains to soak, these cookies were quick and easy.  They are made with whole wheat flour and oats.  Honey is used to sweeten instead of sugar, and butter instead of oil.  I am not a breakfast cereal eater, and E does not like to eat breakfast cereal with milk, so we do lots of granola bars, fruit, eggs, and toast for breakfast.  I am happy to have a NEW, delicious, healthy, and quick breakfast option.

E: They are very all-too good!

Mama: 5 stars, we'll be making these a lot here in the future.

Recipe Corner: Quiche Muffins

I have a problem in my house. I love to eat things like quiche, omelets, and fritatas. My husband cannot stand eggs in anything other than baked goods. My little munchkin doesn't care for them much, either. So this recipe was my solution to that problem. I baked a big batch of quiche muffins, little individual quiches! Now I can have eggs whenever I want them. I got the recipe from 30 Day Gourmet over here.

You will need:
16 oz. cottage cheese, pureed in a food processor
4 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 c. onions, chopped

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add milk, flour, baking powder, and salt to eggs and mix until smooth. Add the pureed cottage cheese to the egg mixture and mix. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, and onions.

Pour filling into a well-greased muffin tin. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Cool and freeze in small freezer bags for individual servings.

These are delicious! The only trouble I ran into was getting them out of the muffin tin. I ran out of cooking spray and had to use butter for greasing my pan, I guess I didn't get in the corners well enough. They still taste good, though, even if they don't look quite perfect. And I love that they are freezable. They will last me for months!

Happy Cooking!
Nicole.

Freezer Cooking

This was my weekend to cook. I use the 30 Day Gourmet cookbook and website, and cook only once a month. This month, my friend, Sara, decided to cook with me! We had a blast and got all our meals made for October.

We started out with this:

And ended up with this!

On the menu this month is:
Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Cube Steak Bake
Pork Chops and Apple Gravy
Chicken Cordon Bleu Pockets
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Chicken and Beef Fajitas
Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
Dijon Chicken Breasts
Polynesian Turkey Burgers
We each made 3 meals of each one of these recipes. We both have only 3 people (2 adults and 1 toddler) in our families, so we cut most of the recipes in half.

Then, because I like to have some snacks and breakfasts on hand, I also made
Peanut Butter Muffins
Quiche Muffins
Cincinnati Chili (because Sara's family doesn't like chili)

It took us pretty much all day but it's so rewarding to see that pile of food ready for the freezer. All the recipes I got for free at the 30 Day Gourmet website. They're from the newsletter recipes section. I check the book out from the library frequently, though. One of these days I'll have to buy it.

Thanks for cooking with me, Sara!!