She's Sweet on the Smoothies

Since Chase received a Vitamix blender for Christmas, Sophie and I have been taking advantage of it and making smoothies most mornings. She calls them Jamba Juice and I'm happy to whip them up for her and experiment with different flavors. My favorite so far is pinapple with yogurt and coconut milk, Sophie likes banana with almond milk, yogurt and a little peanut butter. Chase likes a basic berry smoothie.

Lasagna Soup

Sophie and I have a problem. The kind of problem that I feel like I should change, but it actually kind of works for us.

Each afternoon when Sophie gets up from her nap, she always wants to watch Mickey Mouse. The girl is hooked on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse lately, the Choo Choo Express episode. I've already seen it four times this week. She wants to immediately go straight to my bed with her entourage of drinks (she insists on juice, milk AND water) to watch an episode of Mickey. Since she usually wakes up from her nap anytime between 4 and 5pm, this is the perfect time for me to let her zone out and start figuring out dinner.

The problem is, I feel guilty! I don't want to create a tv-watching monster! For now though, I let it slide so I can make delicious dinners like this lasagna soup. I love hearty soups for dinner now that it its dark and cold outside. I wish I could share some sweet pictures of Sophie and I making soup together but instead, this is what she was doing. She only called out for me when she needed more snacks in her bowl.

Lasagna Soup

(From A Farm Girl's Dabbles)

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

for the soup:
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
• 3 c. chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 c. chicken stock
• 8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
• 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy yum:
• 8 oz. ricotta
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• pinch of freshly ground pepper
additional cheesy yum:
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Roasted Corn and Blueberry Salad

I made this recipe a few years ago after finding it on Tastespotting. It sounds a little strange but its very fresh and summery and makes a great side dish. Sophie loves both corn and blueberries so I figured this would be right up her alley, plus it was basically just throwing the ingredients in a bowl together and stirring so she'd be able to help. It took me a while to find the recipe again. I kept googling corn and blueberry salad and finding more complicated recipes like this one and this one. Finally I remembered it came from a blog called House Boats Eats. Give it a try!

This is how we wash blueberries in our household

Is that not how you do it?

Sampling the corn

The finished product

Roasted Corn and Blueberry Salad 

(From House Boat Eats)

2 cups fresh blueberries
2 cups roasted corn
small handful of basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

First soak your corn with the husk on for about 10-15 minutes. Next roast the corn in its husk. I just put mine under the broiler for five minutes, then turned it and broiled for another five minutes. You could also do this on the grill. Remove the corn from the heat and let it in cool in its husk. While its cooling, chop the basil into thin strips and toss in a bowl with the blueberries. Cut your corn off the cob and add it to the berries. Add the oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Toss to coat. That's it! Super easy!

Strawberry Cream Pie

Last week, Sophie and I ended up doing a lot of baking. We made a fresh cherry pie, a strawberry cream pie and banana bread. She's starting to really like being a part of things in the kitchen and loves to help me when she can. We had a ton of fresh strawberries and I was looking for a new dessert recipe. This strawberry cream pie was amazing! It has a graham cracker crust and a cream cheese style layer like a strawberry pizza but then its topped with both whole strawberries and an amazing glaze that's super easy to make.

Strawberry Cream Pie
(Adapted from Your Home Based Mom)

Step #1 - Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs.
(I crushed up one package of graham crackers in my food processor and it was just the right amount)
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tbs butter, melted

Combine these three ingredients and press firmly into a 9 inch pie dish. Bake at 7-8 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool.

Step #2 - Strawberry Glaze

1 cup strawberries, stems cut off
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Puree strawberries in a food processor. Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add the water and strawberry puree. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and strain if you want, but you don't have to. Pop this into the refrigerator to cool.

Step #3 - Creamy Filling

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 cups whole strawberries

First whip your heavy cream until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, blend the cream cheese and sugar. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the whipped cream. Spread this mixture in your cooled crust. (I only wanted a thin layer of this filling so I used about two thirds of the mixture) Place your whole strawberries on top of the creamy filling with their cut sides down. Spoon your strawberry glaze over the top. Chill for at least 3 hours.

Milkshakes for Breakfast

Last week when Sophie had a little cold, I made a batch of milkshakes for breakfasts. That's right, milkshakes. It was super healthy though, just a slightly modified version of the green smoothie we tried a few weeks back. She gobbled it up, but I have to admit that I probably loved it even more than she did.

Breakfast Milkshake

1 frozen banana 

(make your life easier and slice this up before freezing)

4 ounces vanilla greek yogurt

1 tablespoon Biscoff spread

1 cup almond milk

Blend it all up and you have a creamy, dreamy shake for breakfast! You can also use any sort of nut butter like peanut butter or almond butter in place of the Biscoff and regular or soy milk instead of the almond milk.

Baking on a Rainy Day

While the rain poured down on Monday, Sophie and I enjoyed a lazy day indoors. We cuddled in bed while watching cartoons, we had a late breakfast in our pajamas and then we did a little baking. Since Sophie's obsession with blueberries and all things blueberry related is still going strong, we found an easy recipe online and whipped up these muffins.

Eyeing the ingredients

Sampling the ingredients

Lining the muffin tins

Mixing it all up

The muffins were amazing and required very few ingredients. You probably have everything you need to make these right now aside from the blueberries. The crumbly, cinnamon top was the best part. Try them immediately!

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

(from All Recipes)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
• 
  
• Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top.
• 
  
• To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking
• 
  
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.