Black Beans and Rice

Rice (I cook mine in a rice cooker for 54 minutes. You can cook the rice on the stovetop or bake it if you do not have one.):

• 1½ cups Brown Rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 cloves pressed garlic

While rice is cooking prepare the following vegetables:

• ½ large white onion – chopped
• 1½ jalapeño peppers – deveined, deseeded & chopped
• 7 – 8 campari tomatoes – chopped

Beans:

• In a large sauté pan, brown 2 cloves grated garlic in 2 Tbsp. of butter
• Add 2 cans Black Beans (drained and rinsed). Set burner to a medium–low heat.
• Add 1 cup frozen corn
• Add 2 tsp. Ground Cumin
• Add salt (I use Kosher salt) & pepper to taste
• Cover and heat through. Stir occasionally.

Add the rice and vegetables to the beans. Add 1 cup of chicken stock to mixture. Stir and cover. Stir occasionally until heated through. 

Serve alone or top with homemade salsa. Reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes on 50% for a quick, satisfying and healthy lunch.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Trim & cut 6 chicken breasts into 1½ inch pieces. I get approximately 6 nuggets out of each breast. Place chicken in glass container. Cover with milk and allow chicken to soak in the refrigerator for 3 hours. (I would imagine the longer the better, but this is a good place to start.)

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together:

• 6 pieces of bread that have been chopped in the food processor. (This is what I save the heels of our bread for.)
• ½ tsp. basil
• ½ tsp. oregano
• ½ tsp. parsley
• ¼ tsp. garlic salt
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (I have made the nuggets without the cheese. They are still very tasty.)

In a separate bowl:

• Melt ¼ cup of butter. (You will probably need more butter. When the cold chicken hits the warm butter, it begins to solidify again. Add more butter to the bowl and melt it as this happens.)   

Dip the chicken nuggets in the butter. Then move them to the breadcrumb mixture. Be sure the entire nugget is covered with crumbs. Place the coated nuggets in a single layer on the lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle any remaining breadcrumbs on top of the nuggets.

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip chicken on pan. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and chicken is cooked through. 

Wrap the leftovers in foil and freeze. I put enough to feed my family in each package. To reheat: Bake nuggets at 375° for 7 minutes. Flip chicken on pan. Bake an additional 7 minutes or until chicken is heated through. 

This makes for a quick and easy meal and they taste as good as the first time. It’s definitely worth the original prep time. I usually double the recipe and have enough nuggets to feed my family of four 5 times.

Cashew Butter

Combine (according to your blender's directions):

• 3 cups cashews
• 1 Tbsp. Canola Oil

This is a great way to change up your PB&J sandwiches. The kids LOVE it!

**We have smoothies every morning. This resulted in us burning out the motor in our blender every 6-8 months. (For the record, I NEVER bought cheap ones. So frustrating!) I finally broke down and purchased the Vitamix 5200. It was worth every penny. I signed up for their newsletter and purchased mine when they were offering a special.

Blueberry Buckle Muffins

These are WONDERFUL! They are like individually portioned blueberry coffeecakes... which is a nice way to avoid eating an entire coffee cake. (Not that I've ever done that.) My kids love them. Enjoy :)

Preheat oven to 375°. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Batter:

Mix together:

• 2 cups King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour (I’ve tried other whole wheat flours… nothing compares to the quality of KAF.)
• ¼ cup white Crisco
• 2 ½ tsp. baking powder (I use aluminum free)
• ¾ tsp. salt

Mix in a separate bowl:

• ¾ cup milk (I use organic)
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup granulated sugar

Combine together until completely blended.

• Fold in 1 cup frozen blueberries.

Scoop batter evenly into muffin tins. Makes approximately 24 muffins.

Streusel Topping:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1/3  cup King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup cold butter

Mix dry ingredients together in separate bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives. Topping will be crumbly. Top each muffin with 1 Tbsp. of streusel topping. 

Bake for 22 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately and cool on racks. Wrap individually and freeze for an easy breakfast option.

Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven to 400°. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together:

• ¾ cup butter (softened, not melted)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix in a separate bowl:

• 2½ cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (It truly is the best flour for baking)
• 1 tsp. baking powder (I use aluminum free)
• 1 tsp. salt

Mix together until completely blended. Put dough in the fridge for at least one hour. 

Sprinkle flour on counter and on rolling pin. Roll out dough until approximately ¼ inch thick. Cut into your favorite shapes. Decorate with IndiaTree NATURE'S COLORS - Decorating Sugars.

Bake on center rack for 5 minutes. Turn cookie sheet 180° and continue to bake 2-3 more minutes or until cookies are firm to the touch. Remove from pan immediately and cool on a wire rack.

This recipe is adapted from Big Bird’s Busy Book. My mom got this as a gift when she sponsored PBS when I was a toddler. Fun… don’t you think? 30+ years later, the recipe can’t be beat!

Granola

Preheat oven to 325°. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together:

• 2 cups Oats
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. flax (I use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Ground Flax Seed Meal)

Whisk in a separate bowl:

• ¼ cup honey (I use local honey… the local pollens help build immunities to allergies)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. Canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine together until oats are completely coated with the honey mixture. Spread mixture evenly on parchment paper. Leave chucks for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip granola on pan. Add nuts if so desired. (I use chopped pecans.) Bake another 5 minutes. Flip granola on pan. Bake an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown. 

Cool completely and add 1/3 cup of raisins (or other dried fruit). Store in an airtight container. Serve dry or with milk.

Blueberry Smoothie

Blueberry Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana (I buy large bunches at Sam's. I usually have one bunch on my counter ripening and another in the freezer individually wrapped and ready to go.)
• 1/3 cup yogurt (I use Stonyfield Low Fat French Vanilla - if you are paying over $4 for this, find it somewhere else.)
• 1 large or 2 small pineapple spears (I also buy these at Sam's)
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 3 small ice cubes
• 1/2 cup juice (I use V8 Fusion Pomegranate Blueberry - also from Sam's)
• a splash of water (adjust to get the texture you like)

Throw it in your blender and enjoy!

A few years ago, one of my sisters suggested that I make a smoothie for breakfast. Every morning I was grabbing something quick that usually contained grains of some sort. I was always starving before lunch and feeling sluggish. I experimented with some ingredients and this is what I came up with.

The kids and I have this every morning. Yes, every morning. Remember, I have OCD... order and consistency work well for me. :) Besides it's healthy; it's quick and easy; and it's delicious. The kids have some other breakfast goodness as well. What they don't drink goes into the fridge. They often finish it up after dinner.