Egg on Your Face

Although Easter has come and gone, I bring to you a recipe that could solve the burning questions of what to do with those dozens of colored eggs OR what to bring to your next barbecue gathering. While there are so many recipes for hard-boiled eggs, I went back to one of my favorite recipes found in the April 2010 edition of Cooking Light.

Our Easter celebration kicked off with a fun Easter activity.  Ella and Miles enjoyed spending time with their Grandma coloring eggs (and their hands). Miles moved quickly and was partial to one color, yellow. While Ella took her time to get the perfect color of pink for her egg. After awhile we successfully died three cartons of eggs, whew! So what to do with all of those colored eggs?  We whipped up a tasty app and, with some minor adjustments, made it kid-friendly and non-dairy to compliment our Easter feast. Miles enjoyed them so much he had another, and another, and another…then, saved some egg on his face for later.

Deviled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Herbs

8 large eggs

1/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon

2 teaspoons minced fresh dill

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces cold-smoked salmon, finely chopped

16 small dill sprigs

16 small tarragon sprigs

I made a dairy and a non-dairy version of these tasty Easter day (or any day) treats. Using my died eggs from the day before, I peeled and rinsed any extra shell pieces away. Carefully cutting the eggs lengthwise, I removed the yolks splitting into two separate bowls – for the dairy and non-dairy mixtures. I then mashed the yolks with a fork and added the sour cream, mayo, mustard, herbs, pepper and meat. Then, mixed well and spooned about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into each egg half. Garnished with dill and tarragon sprigs, then packed up and brought both to our Easter day party!

Note: For Miles’ non-dairy eggs, I used a milk free sour cream (Tofutti found at Dierbergs). The Mayo I used for both versions was Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise (no dairy!). Also, I left out most of the herbs for Miles’ version so that it was more appealing to his young tastebuds. Oh yah, and smoked salmon sounded like an iffy ingredient for all, so I switched it with a tasty prosciutto (Volpi brand from Dierberg’s).

Friday Night, Movie Night

Ah, Friday. We wait for it all week. It signals the beginning of the weekend and the hopeful possibility that everyone will sleep till seven the next two mornings. Well, in my house, Friday also means Movie Night, which is greeted with cheers and chants of no baths, pizza, cookies and those song-filled Disney princess movies. Not your momma’s Movie Night.

Movie Night is a treat every week, but this Movie Night was even more so. Ella and Miles welcomed a special guest…their Aunt Maggie from California! We celebrated with a homemade pizza (well, okay, not-so homemade) and Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a spring-time twist).

Not-So Homemade Pizza

I’ve already confessed that my family has a high respect (or maybe it’s a weakness) for pizza. We continue to find new ways to feed our crave. We’ve not abandoned the homemade pie crust, and we still continue to help our local economy through ordering plenty from our favorite delivery places. Our Not-So Homemade Pizza is just one more option in our bag of pizza tricks.

Pizza crust (365 brand from Whole Foods)
Pizza sauce (this time we used Dell-Amore brand from Whole Foods)
Shredded cheese
Pepperoni

Heat oven to 550 degrees. Place pizza crust on baking sheet. Spread sauce evenly to about 1/2 inch from edge of crust. Top with favorite cheeses and toppings. For Miles’ pizza, we used a nondairy mozzarella cheese (Daiya from Dierbergs) and Meatless Pepperoni (Yves brand from Whole Foods). Bake in oven for 7 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a spring-time twist)

We recreate several of the recipes from Not a Drop of Milk…(or Soy). The author, Kristin Caitlin Reilly, shares Miles’ disorder which adds another layer of confidence while I make some of our favorite treats. While the pizza cooked in the oven, we started in on our second component to Movie Night.

2 sticks nondairy margarine (we use Earth Balance found at Dierbergs)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips (this time, we used nondairy spring colored chocolate candies)

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set aside.

With an electric mixer (I just used my hand mixer), cream the margarine. This gets tricky, but don’t give up. Add in both sugars, then the vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixed.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add dry ingredients and mix.

Add in the nondairy candy. The author suggests a 12 oz bag. I just added and mixed till the dough was covered in candy to my liking. (The candy was special ordered from Illinois Nut & Candy in Skokie, IL.)

Drop the dough on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. I actually baked for 12 minutes and let them bake for a few more minutes (out of the oven) on the pan.

Put this duo creation in front of your movie goers and enjoy your favorite flick. At Ella’s suggestion (and maybe Aunt Maggie’s?) we watched one of our favorites, Cinderella.

A Tale of Two Chilis

These winter months bring a lot of comfort foods into our menu. The most loved in our family is a double take on a popular dish. We have been cooking Chili for years and, for some dinner revival, we recently introduced Chili Pasta Skillet into our collection of meals. Both of these much-loved dishes are welcomed by Ella with a celebratory dance and song. (Miles just asks for “more”.) I still scratch my head on why these are a family favorite, but if it gets me the title of “Best Mom in the World” for the night, I’ll take it.

Chili has two main components that are questioned in a Galactosemic diet. Many  Galactosemics do not eat tomatoes or tomato sauces, which are thought to have a high content of galactose. Lentils are also a questionable food. After we attended the 2012 Galactosemia Conference and heard the discussions on tomatoes and lentils, we’ve decided tomatoes and tomato sauces are okay in small doses. Lentils we are still excluding from the diet.

Chili from Better Homes and Gardens

1 pound ground meat
1 cup onion (we leave this out because the kids can spot them and refuse to eat the Chili)
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced (we use the jar kind)
1 15-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained (Full Circle brand found at Schnucks)
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce (Full Circle brand found at Schnucks)
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

For our Chili we usually use ground turkey breast or ground beef; however, with four hunters in the family, we sometimes use venison.

Brown the meat in a saucepan with the sweet pepper and garlic. Stir in the remainder of the ingredients plus 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, but leave out the kidney beans (for now). Bring to a boil then simmer on low. During the simmer process, I portion out some of the Chili into a separate pan for Miles. Then, add the kidney beans to the original Chili.

We’ve also made a version in the crock pot, which is great if you want to make your house smell yummy all day long!

Chili-Pasta Skillet from Better Homes and Gardens

1 pound ground meat
3/4 cup chopped onion (we leave this out)
1 15 1/2-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (we leave these out)
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes (Full Circle brand from Schnucks)
1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce (Full Circle brand from Schnucks)
1/2 cup dried elbow macaroni (we use Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Extra Wide Noodle Style)
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers, drained (we leave these out)
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder (we usually leave this out also)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (we leave this out also)

Cook meat (ground turkey breast, ground beef or venison) in large skillet till brown. Add remainder of ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Both of these dishes go great with cornbread. I use the recipe on the back of the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal container. Just substitute the milk with soy milk and it’s a great addition to your chili dinner.

A Valentine’s Day Treat

What do you get when you mix cake, frosting, candy and a lollipop? Cake Pops, of course. This yummy treat was first introduced to the Head Family by one of our most beloved destinations…Starbucks. With two years of age under her belt, Ella could order a mean Mocha Latte and a Birthday Cake Pop from the back seat (one time she ordered fries with it).

I found an awesome recipe for these delicious and dangerously sweet goodies in the October 2010 edition of Midwest Living.  With just a few modifications, this sweet treat is safe for the whole fam.

Grease cake pan. I used Pam.

Dr. Oetker Organics box of chocolate cake mix (found in the whole foods aisle at Dierberg’s)
3 eggs
2/3 cup orange juice (substitute for the milk)
½ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
16 ounce can of frosting

Want a little kick? Maybe substitute 2 to 4 tablespoons of liquid with a liqueur or coffee. For a little spice, try chipotle powder or cinnamon in place of the pie spice.

Mix ingredients. The box instructions say to use a hand mixer – I just mixed with a spoon (really, really fast). Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven (according to box instructions).

Let cake cool. Crumble into a large bowl and add a 16 oz can of frosting of choice. We use Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla (maybe chocolate would be better?). Mix with a hand mixer (you need to use the actual mixer this time). Mixture will be wet.

Roll the dough into 1 ½ inch balls. The recipe suggests using a melon baller or cookie scoop – my internal scale and hands work just fine. Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Insert sucker sticks into each ball. Find a level space in the freezer and allow to chill for 2 hours.

And if they weren’t sweet enough, now it’s time to add the candy coating.

1 cup of non-dairy chocolate chips
3 tablespoons of non-dairy butter (Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
Sprinkles (optional)

Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and repeat for 30 seconds until smooth.

Dip the frozen suckers into the melted chocolate and allow excess chocolate to drip off.  Add sprinkles (if you wish). Work fast. Chocolate is hard to work with, non-dairy is even harder.

Place suckers back on the cookie sheet and place back in the freezer for one hour.

Enjoy with your sweethearts!

Note: The original recipe calls for 2 pounds of chocolate or vanilla-flavored candy coating (such as Gruley’s). Candy coating has whey, thus not acceptable for a Galactosemic diet. We’ve substituted non-dairy chocolate chips that were ordered from The Illinois Nut & Candy Company in Skokie, IL – www.RaisingTheCandybar.com.

Chocolate French Toast

Got your attention, didn’t I?

I can’t say I’ve ever followed a French Toast recipe, but have made it more times than notes in a Phish song . The bread n butter of a great French Toast is, well, the bread and the butter, right? So, add in a little creativeness and you’ve got one more variation of this easy and yummy meal. But, great results are not always the product of cooking genius, but sometimes reached pleasantly by mistake. Our Chocolate French Toast was concocted as a last minute dinner idea that was inspired by some aging bread and a substitute for a main component.

4 slices sourdough bread (Goldminer California Sourdough from Schnucks Bakery)
2 beaten eggs
½ cup chocolate soy milk (Full Circle brand from Schnucks)
2 tablespoons non-dairy butter for the pan (Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks from Dierberg’s)

Melt non-dairy butter in a preheated (medium high) pan.

Add beaten eggs and chocolate soy milk to a shallow dish. (The chocolate milk was a failed idea the previous weekend. We weren’t sure what to do with it until we realized it was the only milk in the house!) Dip bread on both sides into mixture being sure not to get the bread saturated.  Cook the bread in the pan of melted butter about 3 minutes on each side.

Slice the toast into sticks and add a puddle of syrup (Log Cabin Light) for dipping!

Pizza, Pizza!

Pizza. Some may say that pizza is the foundation in which our small family of four was established. My husband, Nick, and I met over a pizza (literally). My favorite food while pregnant with my oldest. Yep, Pizza. (Ella still loves Pizza every week for movie night.) And, Miles was born just three short hours after I enjoyed a pizza dinner. My Last Supper, per say.

When we learned about the adjustments we would need to make for Miles’ diet, I actually had a startling thought that we would never be able to eat pizza again! How silly. Of course, we can. When not ordering from Pizza Hut, Joe’s or Dewey’s (Miles’ order has no cheese or meats, and light sauce), we found it to be a fun activity to make our own.

From Not a Drop of Milk…(or Soy), a cookbook written by a Galactosemic, Kristin Caitlin Reilly, I found a recipe that I could even follow.

1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups very warm water
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons salt
A few teaspoons olive oil for the bowl and pan
Cornmeal for the pan

Sprinkle yeast over the warm water and set aside.

Pour the flour, all-purpose and cake, into one bowl. Add salt.

Pour yeast mixture into the bowl. Knead the dough.The recipe suggests an electric mixer (i.e. Kitchen Aide), but I don’t have one. I used a hand mixer and kneaded by hand. It worked out fine and was a good workout. I mixed with the hand mixer until it got too gummy, then kneaded the dough by hand for about 5 minutes or so.

Coat another bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl. Cover and let sit for about two hours. Dough should double in size.

Preheat your oven to 550 degrees. Not a typo and yes, as I found out, the oven temperature does really go that high. Who knew?

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about ¼ of an inch. (I had to use a giant cup because one of the kids hid the rolling pin.) Place on a pizza pan that has been greased with olive oil and sprinkled with cornmeal. Spread with store bought pizza sauce (we used Mid’s Homestyle Pasta Sauce found at Schnuck’s). Sprinkle with cheese of choice. For Miles’ pizza we used a non-dairy mozzarella cheese (Daiya found at Dierberg’s). Add toppings and bake for 5 to 7 minutes.

It was fun to have everyone build their own pizza with toppings of their choice. Knowing that they had made it themselves, the kids ate their pizzas with pride.