Birthday Cakes Remembered

I found all of Zoe's birthday cakes from years past! This is probably more exciting for me, so humor me and have fun looking through the pictures!

1st Birthday - Letter Building Block
This was a whole grain carrot cake with all natural sweeteners. It tasted very good and Zoe kept wanting to smash it with her whole arm, but kept second guessing herself like she wasn't' sure if it was the right thing to do.

2nd Birthday - Blue's Clues Cake
I had someone else decorate Zoe's cake this year, and I was so disappointed that I didn't do it. It was this cake that made me decide to always have fun doing Zoe's cake myself. This was a whole grain chocolate cake that was very moist and dense and yummy.

3rd Birthday - Hi-Ho Cherry-o Cake
This was a lot of fun to make. It was a chocolate cherry cake made with a can of cherry pie filling, and it was extremely good. I decorated it the night before and put the red jellybeans on it and took pictures. When I took it out of the fridge the next morning, the red jellybeans bled all over the cake. I'm glad I got the shot the night before.

4th Birthday - Princess Cake
This cake was awful. Zoe said she wanted a princess cake, so I decided to try one of those Barbie cakes (generic Barbie used). She also said that it needed to have fruit on it to make it healthy. Well, the frosting was slightly to runny and I couldn't keep Barbie's top on, and the fruit kept sliding down the side. I quickly squirted and placed everything on before taking this shot. This cake was a chocolate zucchini cake, and I thought I would add a little extra zucchini to make it healthier, and it tasted really bad, like a mouthful of veggies with icing on it.

5th Birthday - Disney Princess Cake
This year Zoe said she wanted Belle and Ariel on a cake, so I took on the grand task of trying to recreate Disney. I think the design turned out fairly well, although they had really creepy eyes. At least you could tell who they were, and I consider that a success. This was a chocolate mint cake, that tasted like a peppermint patty. It had a layer of chocolate cake, a layer of white "peppermint patty" filling, and a layer of chocolate ganache on top. It had a very intense flavor, but everyone who loved mint chocolate loved the cake.

6th Birthday - Webkinz Cake
This was the first year that I tried to use fondant, and thought it turned out really well. The fondant didn't have much flavor, but the cake looked great, kind of reminiscent of a 50's diner. You know, I can't remember what flavor cake this was. I believe it was some variety of chocolate.

7th Birthday - Bugs Cake
When Zoe requested this cake, she said she wanted bugs on it, but not gross bugs, only cute bugs. This was a fantastic lemon cake, and the fondant looked great, and tasted great, too!

7th Birthday

Zoe turned 7 today, and I made her a lemon cake. I made 2 layers in a 9-inch round cake pan, and 2 layers in an 8x8 pyrex. I had Ben trim the square layers to make them more square and to fit on top of the round layers. I kneaded gel coloring into the fondant after I made it, and the cake was surprisingly bright and reminiscent of playdoh. It turned out fantastic! It both looked and tasted great! I doubled the cake recipe to fit 4 pans, but did not double the lemon filling or frosting.

Lemon Cake with Lemon Filling and Lemon Butter Frosting
- from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8 inch round pans. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
4. To make filling: In medium saucepan, mix together 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Mix in 6 tablespoons butter and 3/4 cup sugar, and bring mixture to boil over medium heat. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. In small bowl, with a wire whisk, beat egg yolks until smooth. Whisk in a small amount of the hot lemon mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the sauce pan, beating the hot lemon mixture rapidly. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes, or until thick (not to boil).
5. Pour mixture into medium bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface to keep skin from forming as it cools. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate 3 hours.
6. To make frosting: In large bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon lemon zest until smooth. Beat in milk, and increase speed and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
7. To assemble: With long serrated knife, split each cake layer in half horizontally, making 4 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on a serving plate. Spread with half of the lemon filling. Top with another layer, and spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Add third layer, and spread with remaining half of the lemon filling. Press on final cake layer, and frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Refrigerate cake until serving time.

Rolled Buttercream Fondant
- from allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 cup shortening
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 2 pounds confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the shortening and corn syrup. Mix in the salt and vanilla flavoring, then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, knead in more confectioners' sugar until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
2. To use, roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick or thinner if you can. Drape over frosted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down, or cut into strips to make bows and other decorations.

Pear Pizza

We always have warm breakfasts on the weekends, and I ran out of eggs on Saturday so I had to get creative on Sunday. I used canned pears for this, but just about any fruit can be used, as long as it's soft or cooked. I used my default pizza dough recipe since I know it by heart, and just added a little extra sugar and substituted butter for the olive oil. I also added a little vanilla to the dough. I didn't pre-bake my crust, and wished that I had because the moist pears caused the top of the crust to stay dough-ey. I modified the recipe below to bake the crust first.

Pear Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast, or 1 scant Tbs.
  
• 1 Tbs white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cans pear halves, sliced (other soft fruit can be used)
• 2 Tbs apple, peach, apricot or other light jelly
• cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan. Pre-bake pizza crust for 8 minutes. Remove from oven.
   
4. Lay pear slices all over crust. Heat jelly until soft and spreadable, either in the microwave or on stove top. Brush jelly over pizza. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
5. Bake another 5-8 minutes until fruit is heated through and crust is lightly browned.
   

Chinese Food

A couple of weeks ago I made sweet and sour pork like you get in Chinese restaurants with the breading and the frying and the red sauce (my sauce was more translucent since I didn't want to add food coloring), and I thought there had to be a healthier version that my family would like just as much. I also have been looking for a hot and sour soup recipe that used convenient ingredients to get, that tastes similar to a restaurant's version, since Zoe LOVES hot and sour soup and will eat it all up no matter how spicy it is. I found these two recipes on allrecipes and modified them slightly and it turned out great! For the soup, I only had egg whites on hand, leftover from a previous recipe, so I used that in the soup. Verdict: I thought the sweet and sour chicken was fantastic ad the soup was pretty good, although not up to par with a restaurant's version. Ben didn't much care for the soup, but he doesn't care for it in the restaurant either. I'm pretty sure he liked the sweet and sour chicken since he ate all that was on his plate. Zoe liked both, once we added more vinegar and soy sauce to her soup. She ate all the meat, rice and pineapple, but left the chunks of green pepper, which really is no surprise. :)

Sweet and Sour Chicken
-adapted from allrecipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 sliced or chunked bell pepper (green, red, yellow, or a combination)
  
• 1 cup carrot strips
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 Tbs ketchup (can be omitted, but gives it that red color)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Brown chicken in oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add green bell pepper, carrot and garlic and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and soy sauce and mix together; add vinegar, sugar and ginger and ketchup; pour mixture into the skillet, along with the pineapple and liquid. Stir together and bring to a full boil. Serve with rice.

Hot and Sour Chicken Soup
-from allrecipes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• 3 slices fresh ginger root
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into thin , bite-sized strips
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan, combine the chicken broth, water, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place the chicken slices into a bowl and toss with the sesame oil to coat. In a separate bowl, stir together the cornstarch and vinegar, and set aside.
3. Increase the heat under the broth to medium-high, and return to a rolling boil. Add the chicken slices. Return to a boil, and then drizzle in the egg while stirring slowly to create long strands of egg. Stir in the vinegar and cornstarch. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and the broth has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Serve garnished with green onions. Season to taste with soy sauce and red wine vinegar.
   

Hummus

I love hummus! I have messed with my recipe many times, and think I have come up with my favorite way of putting it together. It's so easy that Zoe can do the whole thing! I found that just about any bean will do in the recipe, so we just throw in whatever is in our pantry (black beans, garbanzos, black-eyed peas, navy beans, etc.). You can also substitute peanut butter for the tahini (sesame seed butter), but I prefer the taste of the tahini. We eat our hummus with corn chips, pita chips, carrots, celery, or spread on tortillas or sandwiches instead of mayonnaise.

Hummus

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cans garbanzo beans
  
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• olive oil (extra virgin)

Directions

1. Take the two cloves of garlic and smash them with the can to peel them. Cut off the little tough ends and throw them into the food processor. Turn on food processor until garlic is all chopped.
2. Open the cans of beans, and drain, reserving the liquid. Put beans, tahini, juice from half of the lemon, and cumin into the food processor.
3. Turn on food processor. While processor is running, stream about 1/4 cup olive oil into the opening at top, until the dip is starting to come together.
4. Open processor and taste the dip. Add salt or the other half of the lemon if needed. If hummus is still too thick, add some of the reserve liquid from the cans of beans or more olive oil while the processor is running until you get your desired consistency.
   

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

My family loves pancakes and waffles, but I get bored with the same old recipe and love to mix it up a little every once in a while. I thought these turned out fantastic, and my family ate everything on their plates!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 cup milk
• 3 Tbs applesauce
• 1 peeled chopped apple

Directions

1. In mixing bowl, stir together flours, baking powder and salt.
2. In another mixing bowl, combine egg, honey, milk and applesauce
3. Add liquid to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.
4. Stir in apples.
5. Pour about 1/2 cup batter on skillet heated to medium heat. Flip pancakes when they start to bubble on top. Cook for 1-2 minutes on other side, until lightly browned.
   

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

What an ugly meal that tasted great! I was able to cook this meal in the crockpot, and it was very simple to make. The original recipe called for condensed tomato soup, but I used a combination of canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes that I had from leftover cans that I combined. I also used leftover rice, which saved time.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
- adapted from Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup uncooked white rice
• Napa Cabbage
  
• 1 pound ground turkey
  
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large can tomato sauce or other canned tomatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, along with 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly.
3. Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves. Roll and place seam side down in crockpot. I had enough to make 2 layers in my slow-cooker.
   
4. Pour remaining tomato sauce over cabbage rolls. Cover and cook on low heat for 5+ hours.
   

Cheese Enchiladas

Last night I made a cheese enchilada recipe from Simply Recipes, one of the more popular food blogs. I was really excited to use this recipe, and had it bookmarked for a long time, but since Zoe has been sensitive to dairy products the recipe has been dormant in my files. I have a good friend that picked me up some raw cheese the past couple of weeks, and I think Zoe can tolerate this new food! So last night I was very excited to make Zoe her favorite Mexican restaurant meal that she hasn't had in a long time...but it didn't turn out so good. Personally, I thought the sauce was awful and bland, and Ben could only eat a few bites. There was something that I learned about authentic enchiladas, though - you have to soften the corn tortillas in oil to get the right texture. When I have made enchiladas in the past, they always turned out too soggy if I used flour tortillas, and too cardboard-ey if I used corn tortillas. The texture of these enchiladas was restaurant perfect! I decided not to post the whole recipe since we didn't like it, but I am pasting in the segment on softening the tortillas:

"In a large fry pan at high heat add 3 Tbsp of grapeseed oil. Add a tortilla to the pan. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift up the tortilla with a spatula, add another tortilla underneath. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift again, both tortillas, and add another tortilla underneath. Repeat the process with all the tortillas, adding a little more oil if needed. This way you can brown and soften the tortillas without using a lot of fat. You do this process to develop the flavor of the tortillas. As the tortillas brown a little, remove from the pan one by one to rest on a paper towel, which absorbs any excess fat." - from Simply Recipes

I didn't have grapeseed oil, so I used olive oil, and I put paper towels in-between every 2 tortillas when finished to remove excess oil.

Walnut Filled Braid

Look what Zoe and I made! Zoe wanted to cook something, so we browsed through my red and white checked Better Homes and Garden cookbook and came across this Walnut-Filled Braid. It turned out to be very impressive looking! Family verdict: Everyone says it's extremely delicious! I will need to make it again!

Walnut-Filled Braid
-from the Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book (11th Edition)

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package or 1 scant Tbs yeast
  
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk (oops, I forgot this, but it still turned out great!)
• 1/3 cup apple, current or mixed fruit jelly
• 1 1/2 cups ground walnuts (ground in food processor)
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbs water

Directions

1. In large mixing bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cup flour, and yeast. In medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, butter and salt just until warm and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with the whole eggs and egg yolk. Beat with electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using wooden spoon stir in in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3-5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place dough in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (for about 1 hour, I put the bowl in the oven with only the oven light on)
3. Meanwhile, for filling, in a small saucepan or microwave, heat jelly just until melted. Stir into walnuts; set aside. In a small mixing bowl beat together egg white and water.
   
4. Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a baking sheet.
5. Roll each portion of the dough into a 12x10-inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle into three 10x4-inch strips. Spread a scant 3 Tbs of the filling down the center of each strip. Brush egg white mixture on edges. Fold long sides of dough over filling.
6. To shape, place the 3 filled ropes, seam sides down, 1-inch apart on half of baking sheet. Loosely braid the ropes of dough, working from the center to each end. Press the ends together and tuck under the loaf. Braid the three remaining ropes. Brush loaves with some of the egg white mixture. Cover and let rise till nearly double (about 30 minutes). Brush loaves again with egg white mixture.
7. Bake in a 350degree oven for about 30 minutes or till bread sounds hollow when you tap the top with your fingers (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning). Immediately remove bread from baking sheet. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves.
   

Chicken Jalfrezi and Roasted Cauliflower

Tonight, I tried a friend's favorite Indian recipe, Chicken Jalfrezi, and to go with it I found a recipe for Indian influenced cauliflower.
Verdict:
Zoe - ate all the meat, but didn't touch the sauce, rice or the cauliflower. I don't think she liked the strong flavor.
Ben - ate everything on his plate, including the cauliflower, which he usually won't touch. He said he really liked the cauliflower, and the chicken was just ok.
Me - I really liked the chicken, but I think I made it a little too salty ( I decreased it in the recipe below), and I would like to try other recipes to see if I could find a more authentic one to use. I didn't really care for the cauliflower - it tasted like salty ketchup on cauliflower to me.

The recipe calls for ghee, and I didn't have any on hand, so I decided to use Smart Balance instead (our dairy free, non-hydrogenated spread). I will have to try making some ghee sometime. I served this meal with rice.

Chicken Jalfrezi
-adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut bite-size pieces
  
• 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken, and season with turmeric, chili powder and salt. Fry gently, scraping the bottom of the pan frequently and turning the chicken.
2. Pour in the tomatoes with their juice, cover the pan, and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Uncover, and simmer for another 10 minutes to let the excess liquid evaporate.
3. Add the ghee, cumin, ground coriander, ginger and cilantro, and simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes. Serve the chicken pieces with sauce spooned over the top.

Roasted Cauliflower with Indian Barbecue Sauce
- adapted from epicurious

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1-pound head of cauliflower, cored, cut into 1-inch florets (about 4-5 cups), or one frozen bag of cauliflower
  
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 3/4 cups ketchup (I used half ketchup, half tomato sauce)
  
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toast cumin in small skillet over medium heat until darker in color and beginning to smoke, about 1 - 1/2 minutes. Set aside.

Toss cauliflower and 2 tablespoons oil in large bowl. Transfer to medium rimmed baking sheet. Roast until very tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add ginger and garlic; sauté until very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, and toasted cumin. Bring to boil, whisking to blend. Reduce heat to very low; simmer barbecue sauce 1 minute to blend flavors, whisking constantly.

Remove cauliflower from oven; transfer to large bowl. Toss with enough barbecue sauce to coat.

Pizza Night

I love pizza. I love it so much that I think I could eat it every day! Really. Anyways, I make pizza at least once a week, and I use the same recipe for the crust every time. Tonight I used some leftover pesto and stretched with 2 minced garlic cloves and extra olive oil, raw tilsit cheese(yum), and some canned organic diced tomatoes. The pizza turned out so spectacularly delicious!

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust
from Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

A Start

I decided to start a food blog, but have been putting it off until I get my kitchen spotless or I try an amazing new recipe that I gotta share with everyone. But that could take me months or years and maybe never happen! The reason I am doing this, is simply because I really enjoy cooking, and love trying new recipes. I feed my family about three to six new recipes a week, and they are good sports and eat almost anything I put in from of them, although I know their limits. So I am starting this as a fun project to share the food that I feed my family, the good and the bad, and have fun along the way. So, here's a start. Enjoy!


Since I have to start somewhere, I am starting simple. Tonight I got home late and have been procrastinating going to the grocery store all week, so I had to think of something simple and quick. I made the decision to make breakfast for supper. We ended up having scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese, toast, and pineapple mango blueberry fruit smoothies. For fruit smoothies I always try to have multiple bags of frozen fruit on hand so I can pick and choose how I want my smoothie. For liquid in the smoothie, I usually like orange juice the best but tonight I used milk and grape juice and they turned pretty darn good. Overall the meal was simple and delicious.


Scrambled Eggs with Summer Sausage and Cheese
Serves 2 (Zoe had leftover Chipotle)

Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 onion, chopped
2 - 1/4 in. slices summer sausage, cut into small cubes
3 eggs, lightly beaten
handful colby-jack shredded cheese

Heat skillet to medium with the 1 Tbs olive oil. Add onions and sausage and sauté for a few minutes, until onions are soft. Pour eggs into pan and scramble. When eggs are close to done, but still slightly runny, add cheese. Turn off heat and stir to finish cooking (if you have a gas range, don't turn off heat until eggs are done). I enjoy cheesy eggs more when the cheese is cut into small cubes instead of grated, so there are still little bits of cheese when done.


Food Tip: I freeze my bananas when they get brown with the peel still on, in a large Ziploc baggie. When I want to use a banana I take one out and put it in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds just to slightly soften it, cut off the end and squeeze the whole banana out. It's kinda gross looking, but so easy and simple. If I need the bananas for banana bread, then I microwave them longer until they are completely soft and not frozen at all.