Care-package Love...Homemade Cranberry Coconut Granola

My littlest sister is doing AMAZING things this summer. While most college students use summer as a time to take meaningless three-hour classes and lounge by the pool (*sheepishly raising hand...*), this fab gal is participating in Kaleo 2014--a nine week long discipleship opportunity that combines biblical study, leadership development, and gives her the skills to launch a ministry on her own campus. In her words--"we're learning how to study the Bible, share our faith, and witness God work in my life and others! Figuring out what making disciples looks like and how you would go about doing it. Basically the best summer of my life." All while holding down a full time, 40 hour a week job. She's basically my hero :) I'm so thankful that little C has so many strong, wonderful, talented aunts to look up to!

 While sister is I'm sure enjoying living in Panama City, FL for the summer, I thought a little care package would help her and her roomies feel a little bit closer to home. Her are my go to items to include in her package:

*Strawberry Liquorice from Trader Joe's (did y'all see my FB post about this last week?? So. Good.)
*Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels--her and her roomie will LOVE these!
*Nail Polish (something fun and girly for summer!)
*An assortment of random items from the dollar section at Target, hahahaha!

and the pièce de résistance...

*A bag of homemade Cranberry Coconut Granola! (recipe below...)

Homemade Cranberry Coconut Granola
(adapted slightly from Southern at Heart)

Ingredients:

5 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sliced almonds

½ cup raw honey

½ cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup water

2 tspn cinnamon

1 tspn vanilla extract

1 tspn sea salt

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

½ cup raisins

½ cup dried cranberries

1 cup shredded coconut

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and line two baking sheets with foil (makes clean up a breeze!). In a large bowl, combine oats, pecans, and almonds. In a separate small bowl, whisk honey and next six ingredients together.  Stir mixture into oats and nuts till completely combined. Spread mixture evenly on the two baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir mixture on pan and return to oven for an additional 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 300 degrees, and return trays to oven for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown in color (I pull the trays out in the middle of this baking time also and stir). Remove trays from oven, and sprinkle raisins, dried cranberries, and coconut over golden oat mixture. Stir to combine, and allow to cool before storing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three weeks.

Spinach and Turkey Meatballs aka...

While little napped, I decided to throw together a new batch of meatballs for her with a bit of a twist. I have been really terrible at the "homemade" food thing as we've moved into a temporary housing situation while we wait to close on a home. A smaller freezer + boxes everywhere + school year wrapping up didn't exactly make for a solid "Mom of the Year" application.

Now that we've settled into a bit of a summer time routine, I figured it was time to cook for my girl again :) I just kind of winged this recipe while she napped. The final product was actually super tasty....just a little green :)

A little "name the meatball" challenge on Instagram came up with:
*Green Boogers
*Green Monster Meatballs and...
*Hulk's Balls

 Call 'em what you like, little girl GOBBLED these up! She tossed back 4...when most days she only had 2.5 of the other recipe. I'll mark this one as a win in the mom column!

Kid tested, mama approved :)

Spinach and Turkey Meatballs 

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and pureed (optional to puree--my kiddo doesn't do well with stringy cooked spinach yet!)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup baby oatmeal cereal (breadcrumbs would be a fine sub; we aren't eating cereal as often, so I wanted to use up what I had left)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl (mixture will be quite sticky). Form into balls and place on a greased, foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes, or until cooked through.

To freeze: Cool completely. Place in ziploc bag and freeze until desired use. I don't recommend keeping baby food for more than three months in the freezer!

Healthy Chicken and Couscous

I'm surprised I didn't open this blog with this meal. It's a recipe that brings back lots of memories--I found the original on the inside of a couscous box when we lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. David traveled a lot for work back then, which meant this soon-to-be bride had a lot of Food Network time on her hands. Couscous was all the rage it seemed that year, so I grabbed a box when I hit up Albertson's and planned a "fancy" dinner for us. I love thinking back to this time in our lives--learning how to live together, learning how to live away from our families, and learning how to become adults (still sorta working on that last one...).

The recipe has morphed substantially over time, and has turned into one of my go-tos. I honestly ALWAYS have the ingredients on hand and love knowing a delicious, healthy meal is less than 30 minutes away....and only requires ONE saute pan! Now that I think about it, it's also pretty baby girl friendly before the tomatoes hit the pan (with a little whirl in the Magic Bullet of course). Enjoy :)

Healthy Chicken and Couscous

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 ¼ tspn dried basil (fresh ok here too! Use more though…)
2 tbsp EVOO ½ cup pine nuts
2-3 chicken breasts, diced in bite sized pieces
1 box whole wheat couscous (either parmesan or roasted garlic flavor)
1 ¼ cup chicken stock/broth
1 clamshell spinach, chopped coarsely (I stick my kitchen shears right in the box and chop away)
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet lined with foil (I’m a lazy cook!), toss tomatoes with 1 tbsp EVOO, pepper, salt, and ¼ tspn basil. I like to make sure all tomatoes are cut side up before putting the pan in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, over medium heat, lightly toast pine nuts in saute pan, stirring often (pick a big pan that you can use for everything! Less dishes = happier mama!) until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove pine nuts from pan and set aside.

3. Season chicken to taste with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp EVOO in the same saute pan (yay!). Add chicken to pan, and cook through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

4. Add chicken broth, spinach, seasoning packet from couscous, and 1 tspn dried basil to the SAME saute pan, bring to a boil. Add in couscous, stirring to mix. Add chicken on top on the mixture, place lid on pan, and remove from heat. Let sit for five minutes.

5. Remove lid and stir in tomatoes and pine nuts. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese to taste. Enjoy!

Healthy Baby Finger Foods: Homemade Meatballs

A few weeks ago when I picked C up from daycare, her daily report said breakfast was "cereal, bananas...and a biscuit." Her teacher said she swiped the biscuit from the poor, unsuspecting kiddo sitting next to her at the table. Harmless enough.... Then last week lunch said, "sweet potatoes, meatballs, pasta, and broccoli." Y'all, I only dropped off pureed sweet potatoes that day. Then last Thursday, I sat sweet girl down at the table and witnessed her go-go-gadget arms snag TWO handfuls of another baby's pancakes. So this mama went into over drive this weekend finding finger foods to satisfy her independence AND her nutritional needs.

Given what she had "sampled" of her friends and what purees had worked, we've tried the following items with overwhelming success:

• Carrots (steamed for a LONG time till they are nice and mushy)
• Avocado, very ripe and diced small
• Ditalini pasta (cooked a bit past al dente)
• Puffs and MumMums, of course
• Scrambled egg yolks (after reading about how highly allergenic the whites can be, I was nervous. I plan to slowly add the whites in a bit at a time after she crosses the 9 month mark this week)
• Waffles (we've used the Central Market HEB Organics Whole Wheat Mini Flaxseed Waffles...delish!)
• Silver dollar pancakes
• Cheddar turkey sweet potato "meat balls"....recipe below!!

I plan to incorporate more proteins soon (moving has slowed down the baby food making game a bit) and experiment with other vegetables cooked soft. C's top tooth finally busted through this week, so hopefully she'll be able to handle new and exciting things soon!!

What were your littles' favorite finger foods???

Cheddar Turkey Sweet Potato "Meat Balls"

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey, browned

1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled till soft, and mashed

1 egg

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl until well mixed. Measure out approximately a tablespoon of the mixture, form into a ball, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and firm.

We set aside a few days worth of meatballs (C usually only plows through 2-4 in a sitting), and froze the remainder. A quick thaw and warming in the oven or microwave, and baby girl has a yummy, nutritious little finger food she can happily feed herself :)

Menu Plan Monday!

Busy week means that this mama needs quick, easy, healthy recipes to prepare in a flash for the fam. Here's the plan for the week...

Monday: Fire Roasted Shrimp and Edamame Rotini (so quick, so delish!)
Tuesday: Taco Salad with homemade taco shells (double up on the ground turkey saving some for tmrw!)
Wednesday: Turkey Sloppy Joes served on baked sweet potatoes with roasted okra
Thursday: LEFTOVERS!!!
Weekend: Andy and Elizabeth's wedding festivities!!!

 Here's the details on tonight's recipe...

 Fire Roasted Shrimp and Edamame Rotini 
(adapted from Bob Green's The Best Life Diet)

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp EVOO
2 tspn minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
1/2 tspn red pepper flakes
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes (could use two cans of fire roasted if you're feeling spicy!!)
1 tspn dried basil (fresh would be a DELISH alternative)
8 oz frozen shelled edamame (I use half of a normal freezer bag)
12oz whole wheat rotini
Parmesan to taste (optional)

Preparation: Bring large pot of water to a boil. Salt water generously (I don't add salt to many things...but I do feel it is important to salt pasta water!). Add pasta and plan to cook according to package directions. When there are about 3 minutes left in the pasta cook time, toss the frozen edamame into boiling water. 

While pasta is boiling, heat skillet over med/medhigh heat. Add EVOO to pan to warm. Toss in garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds. Add shrimp to skillet. Cook until pink and curled (3-4 minutes). Add fire roasted tomatoes to shrimp and heat through.

Drain pasta and edamame, and return to pot. Toss shrimp/tomato mixture into large pot to combine. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Summery Chicken Tostadas

STAAR testing....selling our house soon....a revolving door of colds cycling through each family member...needless to say, this week has been a doozie. This is the kind of dinner I know that I can throw together in a jiffy, be content that we're eating well, and be totally satisfied because it is de-stinking-licious. I almost always have the ingredients to throw these yummy tostadas together on a week night, so it's a go-to in my kitchen.

Summery Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients:
2-4 whole wheat tortillas
1-2 cups chicken, precooked and either chopped or shredded (I love to use a slow cooker chicken like this one from SkinnyTaste)
1 tspn oil of your choice (I used coconut oil, but EVOO or vegetable oil are other options)
1 zucchini, diced
1 med red onion, diced
1 cup corn kernals (kernals cut off grilled cobs are my fave, but frozen corn works just as well!)
1 tspn cumin
1/2 tspn garlic powder
3-4 tbsp verde salsa (I adore HEB's All Natural Hatch Green Chile Salsa Verde)
1-2 cups chicken, precooked and either chopped or shredded (I love to use a slow cooker chicken like this one from SkinnyTaste)
3/4 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
Topping options: chopped cilantro, avocado, HEB's "That Green Sauce", additional salsa verde

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay tortillas on a foil lined baking sheet (you know I ain't got time to clean baking sheets every time I use 'em!), and lightly spray both sides with cooking spray. Bake in the oven for 8-10 min on each side (or until reach desired crispiness), checking frequently to ensure the edges aren't burning.

While the tortillas are toasting, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan. Toss in zucchini and red onion, stirring often. You'll want to saute these two ingredients for 6-8 minutes (or at least until onions are soft. I like the zucchini to have time to get a little browned). Add corn to pan and stir (if using frozen, give a few minutes for the heat to warm the kernals through.). Toss in spices and salsa and stir. Stir chicken into vegetable mixture.

Top each tortilla with approximately a 1/2 cup of the topping mixture (there will be leftovers!). Divide cheese evenly between the tostadas, and return baking sheet to oven just long enough for the cheese to melt.

Serve with desired toppings!

**Note about leftovers: I like to repurpose the leftovers as a "chicken burrito bowl" similar to what you might see at Freebirds or Chipotle. I mix the remaining topping with brown rice or quinoa, add black beans, and a little shredded romaine lettuce for crunch--completely different, totally delicious meal!!

Meal Plan Monday!

I typically like to meal plan and grocery shop on the weekend, but this weekend was the first time in a LONG time that we were able to slow down and enjoy time together as a family. We kicked the weekend off with a nasty stomach bug for the little, but she rallied through it like a champ. In true Texas springtime tradition, we hauled her out to take some pics in bluebonnets (didn't haul her very far...the park near our house had a small patch that mama and daddy deemed sufficient for the first go 'round!), and followed it up with some family time at one of our neighborhood favorites, Onion Creek. Sunday started bright and early with an "al fresco" service at church that C LOVED. It was the greatest combination of three of her favorites--singing, being outside, and smiling at people. She was such a delight all weekend, even despite her little tummy bug!!

Anywho, I let family take the number one spot all weekend, so now it's time to get down to business! I'm going to do my best to share our weekly meal plans on Mondays and will share recipes throughout the week of meals we particularly like. If something pops up on the meal plan that you think sounds good and you want the deets, just drop a comment below and I'll work it in to a post soon!!

You'll notice the meals below may not all sounds the healthiest, but with certain subs and portions in mind, they are all completely realistic. Even looking at this through the lens of the 21 Day Fix, I know I could make this match my containers : )

Monday Meal Plan: April 21

Monday: Freebirds and Shiner Bock (it's Aggie Muster today, so I want to conjure up some good college memories! Plus grocery shopping after bedtime means mama needs some help with dinner tonight.). I typically stick to a burrito bowl and keep the choices *moderately* healthy : )

Tuesday: Girls' dinner! (two nights out in a row?? Who am I???)

Wednesday: Chicken Stir Fry (bought the ingredients for this last week, but never got around to making it...life got in the way!)

Thursday: Summer Chicken Tostadas
**will definitely blog this healthy spin on tostadas!! So super easy and SOOO yummy!

Friday: Chicken Taco Bowls (using leftovers from Thursday)

Saturday: Spicy Chicken Thighs served with green bean and potato salad

Sunday: BBQ chicken pizza (using leftover chicken from last night) and salad

**Will add pics to the post later! Off to the store!!