Today’s Powernap: Pantry stocking! With pumpkin in the air I want to make a great breakfast treat that captures all of the flavors of fall, but that my daughter will still eat. We’ve been adding lots of pumpkin puree to our pancake mix lately but it is time for a departure from pumpkin pancakes and waffles. How about a pumpkin granola? It is easy to whip up while my daughter is at school, keeps well and can even be used for snacktime!
With my daughter at school and pumpkin in the air it seemed only too appropriate to experiment with a recipe for homemade pumpkin granola. I love making homemade granola, but I couldn’t just throw pumpkin puree in my regular recipe because the puree adds so much moisture. Instead, I based this recipe on my regular one but added in some more sweetener and spices and increased the baking time. This quick powernap recipe took just minutes to mix up and get in the oven. I know I could even getting baking early in the morning if we ever needed it for breakfast right that second!
Welcome to Naptime Chef Pumpkin Week! I am a huge fan of cooking and baking with pumpkin this time of year, and I know I am not the only one. This week I thought it would be fun to challenge everyone to cook or bake at least one awesome pumpkin dish during the week to get you in the mood for pumpkin naptime cooking.
So, consider this your challenge – get out your pumpkin and start cooking! You can make anything you want with any kind of pumpkin you want. Whatever it is, we want to hear how what you make! Of course, like any good challenge, the more you share the more chances you have to win some really cool Halloween prizes.
As part of my collaboration with Costco and the National Pork Board this week I developed a recipe using a Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast I got at Costco. Since we were planning a get together with friends recently I decided to use the meat for a great casual entertaining recipe. I’ve always loved making pulled pork in the slow-cooker so I decided to sweeten it up with some cherry cola and top it with a delicious cherry-mustard sauce.
A few months ago a reader, Kelly M., sent me this recipe after she commented about it on my Facebook fanpage. We are HUGE English muffin eaters around here and the idea of actual English muffin bread intrigued me. Could I actually make a loaf of bread that was just as spongy and holey as my favorite English muffins? Could this be the answer to my breakfast prayers – homemade English muffins for a fraction of the cost?(!) The recipe Kelly sent looked unbelievably simple, perfect for throwing together in a jiffy while my daughter took a short snooze or was at school. I couldn’t wait to try it!
Apple picking is easy. So easy that we often pick wayyy more apples than we need. Hence, I bring them home, put my daughter down for a quick snooze, or usher her off to school, while I make several batches of apple chips, apple bread and apple snack muffinsto use them all up. I even use a few to make scalloped apples that night for dinner! Every year I try to add a few new apple recipes to my repertoire to keep things interesting. Last week I decided this years new dish would be a traditional apple crumble with the additional of caramel sauce and chopped crystallized ginger. I loved the idea of giving a favorite food a new twist.
This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the delicious food we love to eat.
GIVEAWAY: {If you are interested in a winning a copy of Laurie’s book please see entry rules below the interview}
Today I am chatting with Laurie David, the author of The Family Dinner Cookbook: Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids, One Meal at a Time and well-known environmental advocate. I had the great fortune of meeting Laurie at the BlogHer Food Conference in Atlanta last May where we made an instant connection. Both of us strongly believe in the power of families eating together as a way of connecting with our children and strengthening family bonds. As you know, I often cook during naptime or when my daughter is at school so that I can enjoy cooking and our dinner is ready with minimal fuss in the evening. This is my way of getting a joyful dinner on the table for us to converse over. Sure, there are nights when my husband travels or I am out for work, but, like Laurie, I strive to make our meals meaningful and memorable as often as possible.
I encourage you to pick up a copy of Laurie’s wonderful book and enjoy it. Better yet, pick up two copies, one for you and one for a friend. The volume contains gorgeous recipes and anecdotes relating to all kinds of family gatherings and ways to connect with your family over meals. It stresses the importance of low-stress food and easygoing fun. A notion I think all parents, especially me, can stand solidly behind.
1. It can be hard to have lengthy sit down dinners with young children. Do you have any tips for parents looking for ways to get their toddlers to stay engaged at the table for more than just the time they are eating?
Kids stay at the table when they’re having fun. And one way to accomplish that is by playing verbal games. My book is full of suggestions for games we played in my house to take the conversation away from the ordinary and get everyone laughing. Kids love to answer questions, they love to respond and they even love to wait their turn to participate. Tonight, try playing “What I Like about Me”. Go around the table and have everyone say one thing that they like about themselves. And then for the second and third rounds, have everyone go around and say what they like about the person on either side of them.
2. Since time can be the enemy of parents with young kids, what kind of meal prep tips do you recommend for people trying to sit down for at least 10 minutes with their families for dinner?
First of all, take the pressure off yourself about what constitutes “dinner”. It can be soup and a salad or healthy sandwich and cut up fruit. On days when you’re super busy, remember that the really important thing is sitting down together and talking. Also, I’m a fan of time savers, such as doubling up recipes and freezing one, sharing meals with friends and simplifying, simplifying, simplifying!
This is the latest installment of my Tales from the Trenches Series. An ongoing series where friends and readers share their stories and recipes about the great food they fit into family life. We all have tips and tricks to share with each other: when we cook, what we cook and how we cook the delicious food we love to eat. If you are interested in contributing a story and recipe please feel free to contact me. Today my friend Jennifer from Savoring the Thyme is sharing a recipe for a favorite family meal she makes while her kids are at school. It is hearty, healthy and perfect for fall!
Jennifer, tell us a little bit about yourself:
1) How would you describe your approach to food in three sentences or less: I adore simple, quality meals made with smiles, love and fun. I do my best to use whole real foods and keep processed foods to a minimum but when it is time for treats, I guiltlessly dive in.
2) What is your favorite winter dinner party menu?:Shrimp Mozambique, Quinoa Chili and The Best Dip Ever. Not necessarily served together but they are some of my favorites to serve company.
3) Sweet or salty?: Salty, salty salty followed by a touch of sweet….then salty again. My favorite snack is cheese with fresh bakery bread.
4) Favorite Cookbook?: I would say that the cookbook I have referenced most for the past 15 years would be ‘How to Cook Everything’ by Mark Bittman. However, note that I had a custom bookshelf built in the house and two shelves are full of cookbooks. Here is a photo of the bookshelf.
5) Guilty Pleasure? Buying latte bowls at Anthropologie followed by a trip to Pinkberry….seasonally.
6) Jennifer, as a mom two kids, what is your favorite family recipe for making during your down time?: Last winter my husband declared, out of the blue, his love of cabbage split pea soup. This startling discovery prompted me to run to the store, gather the ingredients and spend a lovely evening making the soup with my husband. The following day, the kids came home from school early thanks to another weekly snow storm.
Today’s Powernap: I have about 30 seconds to pull together a hefty side dish for our Cranberry Goat Cheese Baked Chicken and my daughter has informed me she wants something involving rice or couscous. With the giant tub of jasmine rice in the cabinet and some terrific saffron threads in the spice drawer it is time to pull something together lickety split!
We are a big fan of rice and couscous around these parts. So far I’ve found my daughter will eat nearly any kind of grain I put in front of her, especially when it is piping hot and paired with her favorite chicken. When I was whipping up the delicious chicken last week she asked for rice on the side but I didn’t have a lot of time to stand manning the stove while it cooked. So, in the interest of time and convenience, I decided to experiment with the idea of baking the rice. This technique involves a few seconds of active stirring followed by 30 minutes of complete neglect. Exactly the kind of recipe I needed on a busy day.
The Occasion: Taking treats to a friend for an afternoon playdate and some to my neighbor to celebrate her daughter’s christening.
Menu: Everyone to bring apple-themed treats to the playdate for a fun fall afternoon.
Attendees: Party of 8 (at playdate!)
Naptime Goals: Bake bars so they have time to cool, finish laundry, wrap up articles and pack snack for pick-up.
When I agreed to bring an apple-y treat to a playdate recently I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I experimented with this Apple Crumb Cheesecake bar recipe a lot last year but never posted about it. Now I’ve think I’ve got it fine-tuned and am finally ready to share! They were originally inspired by my husband’s love of cheesecake and my love of apples. I make a lot of apple breads and muffins during apple season, which are great, of course, but I really wanted to try combining cheesecake and apples to make one stellar bar we all would love.
The lower temperatures of fall have arrived and they are slowly inspiring me to revisit my cold weather cooking favorites. The weather isn’t terribly cold yet, but it is too cool for gazpacho and cold chicken salad. I am turning the page to warmer soups and heartier baked dinners. This newest weeknight chicken dish was inspired by my daughter’s recent favorite snack, Craisins. I constantly toss them into salads and have always wanted to try them out in more savory dishes. When a bag literally fell out of the cupboard last week as I was reaching for some graham crackers I took it as a sign that it was time to try!
A few weeks ago I got a great comment asking me to share how I grocery shop with my daughter during the week. I know I am always chatting about my trips to the farmer’s market and gourmet shop, but I do hit our neighborhood grocery store on a regular basis as well. Not surprisingly, when I posted about how much I love to grocery shop by myself at night while my husband stays home with our sleeping daughter I got a resounding response. Casually strolling the grocery aisles sans children is a luxury you all love too! Of course, the reason we consider it a luxury is because it very rarely happens. Usually my daughter is in the cart begging for various treats while I politely ignore her and speed around checking things off my list, trying to steer clear of grumpy people and children waving candy bars (which inevitably leads to my child wanting one, too). The grocery store can be a minefield with kids, but it still necessitates frequent visits. Here is how I do it:
I thought I would finish off the week with some fabulous birthday tips and recipes from some of the best food bloggers in the biz! I swear by every single one of these ideas and want to make all of their recipes straight away. I think you will feel the same way. Please chime in with your own tips below for your last chance to enter our awesome Birthday Week Favorite Things Giveaway!:
Phoebe & Cara of Big Girls, Small Kitchen advise: “Think long and hard about the birthday boy or girl’s tastes. A birthday cake is kind of a gift itself, and as with any gift, you want it to be a perfectly matched with its recipient. Our Rich Chocolate Celebration Cake is so classic, yet customizable– you can leave it plain, decorate with m&m’s, or slip a layer of strawberries in with the icing for fruit lovers. For the full story behind how this cake worked its way into our birthday traditions, see the “Baking From Heart” chapter in our book,In the Small Kitchen.”
Julie of The Little Kitchen‘s awesome birthday baking tips are: “Make your icing up to two weeks before the party and store in the refrigerator. Make your cupcakes the night before and cover them with a thin towels and leave on the counter. If you don’t cover them, they will dry out. If you cover them in a plastic container, where I live, the humidity affects the liners and causes cupcake liners to peel away from the cupcakes. First thing you do the morning of the party, place your icing on the counter for 30-60 minutes and decorate your cupcakes when you have a chance. If you’re transporting the cupcakes, now’s the time to add them to your cupcake carrier or box.”
Her go-to birthday recipe is: Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes, like the candy bar only a million times better!
Angie of Eclectic Recipes says: “I always include wine and beer for the adults, even at kid’s parties. If alcohol’s not your thing, offer an assortment of calming teas.”
Dara of Cookin’ Canuck’s birthday tips for kids is: “After planning many birthday parties for my kids, my best tip is to keep it simple with a few games, a simple art project and some playtime. All the kids really want to do is spend time together. You could stick them in an open field with a couple of balls and they’d be happy, as long as they could play with each other.”
Dara’s go-to birthday recipe are these Carrot Ginger Cupcakes which are an ideal change from vanilla or chocolate!
Sommer of A Spicy Perspective advises: ” 1.Order decorations online instead of running around looking for them–it saves time and you usually get a better deal. 2. Instead of doing goodie bags with all the junk toys and candy, set up a cookie pop decorating station. Let the kids decorate a cookie pop at the end of the party then put them in cellophane bags so they can take them home. 3. Have your BFF be in charge of the party games. It takes something off your plate and the friend usually comes up with something WAY more creative than you (I) would.”
Aggie of Aggie’s Kitchen offer this tip: “Set a theme! This past year I decided I wanted to be in Mexico for my birthday. It was January, it was cold and I was craving warm sun and fresh food. I couldn’t run away to Mexico unfortunately so we brought Mexico to me by inviting friends over, cooking up a Mexican feast with lots of fresh salsa and margaritas! Themes make celebrations a little extra fun in my opinion!”
7. 6 Extra Entries: Write a blog post between now and Thursday September 22nd about how you celebrate birthdays in your family and include a recipe for a favorite birthday cake or birthday dish and tell your readers about this post with a link back to it. You will be listed in the post next Friday September 23rd as an official sponsor.
8. Contest will run from September 15th at 7:00am through Saturday, September 24th at 7:00am. Winner will be announced on Sunday September 25th at 7:00am. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be drawn. Winner be selected by random.org.
9. Giveaway items can only be mailed within the continental US.
*Giveaway items generously donated by Andrews McMeel, OXO Good Grips and JMcLaughlin.
