Cooking Playdate: Savory "Cupcakes"

I'll bet when your think of a cupcake, you think of a moist fluffy cake with a heaping pile of delicious sugar and butter creamed together. Well, for this play date, we chose to switch it up and provide more of a savory twist on "cupcakes." We really just ended up making single serving meals using muffin or cupcake tins. I happen to think this is a brilliant idea for a cocktail party.

Our first "cupcake" was of course a salad.

Caesar Salad Parmesan Cups -
Feedback: I've never made salad dressing before and apparently it is very easy. I think for this recipe the recommendation was to use way more cheese for the cups. These cups ended up falling apart because they were so thin. I would also add that they may taste best if eaten right after being prepared. Otherwise, the salad was very yummy and fun.

Then, we have our side dish. And what's more comforting than some mac n cheese!

Mac and Cheese Muffins -  

Feedback: I'm a bit picky with my food and especially when it comes to all these crazy cheeses. But, these "cupcakes" were very good. I absolutely love the idea of making portion sized meals for something like this. I might make the constructive criticism that they may have needed a bit more liquid, but I'm certain that was a fluke.

And for our main entree, we had cheeseburgers.
Cheeseburger Cupcakes -  

Feedback: This felt much more like a lasagna than a cheeseburger. But since lasagna is one of my favorite meals, I wasn't complaining. There were also a ton of mushrooms in this meal, which I will admit I didn't notice, but would most definitely leave out if I made this for my family. Although, I did have two. I would highly recommend trying this recipe.
More feedback from Jennifer: I absolutely loved these!  We used wonton wrappers for the base of the cupcake. Some people were concerned with buying these because of leftovers but I feel it was worth it.  The crisped edges were delicious in my opinion.  You could also use these wrappers for simple dumplings as well if you have leftovers.  Like Takisha, I also do not like mushrooms but easily devoured them in this recipe without pause.  If I made this recipe I would include the mushrooms.


For the finally, we had the pleasure of diving into a chocolate chip cookie infused brownie.
Brownie Cookie Cupcake  -  

Feedback: We actually used Emily's cookie recipe and my brownie recipe. But, the link above should work as well. I won't deny that I ate more than my fair share of these delicious treats. I may recommend baking the brownies for a but before adding the cookie dough which is a tip given in the link.

Tip we learned: Spray your cooking spray over your dishwasher to prevent that greasy mess.

For more recipe ideas, visit Emily Bites

*the recipes I'm looking at are in the "Main Course 'Muffin/Cupcake'" section

If you attended this playdate please provide your personal reviews of these foods (or anything else) in the comments below! 

Cooking Playdate: Italian Inspired Paleo Lunch

What exactly is Paleo? Well, the most basic definition is a diet that consists of eating as people did during Paleolithic times (hence the name). So, from what I understand, that means the elimination of all processed foods and apparently white potatoes. The general idea of Paleo appeals to me because as a species, I don't know how we can survive much longer living off of packaged foods considering all of the added nonsense in them. But, because we happen to be pretty modernized, I can see how some of these restrictions can be a challenge to most. I still think it's worth exploring. Remember, as with any diet, Paleo can be modified to fit your needs and desires. You can learn more about Paleo by clicking here. 

For this Playdate, we ended up deciding on an Italian inspired menu to show how versatile Paleo meals can be:

- Bacon Wrapped Dates

- Summer Squash Caprese Noodle Salad

- Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

- Melon Gazpaacho

Bacon Wrapped Dates:

Dates

Bacon

Almonds

Place an almond in a date, wrap bacon around the date. Use a toothpick to hold bacon in place. Bake until bacon is cooked.

Feedback:  While many believe bacon is "unhealthy" because it is filled with fat, we discussed how using bacon from naturally grass-fed animals (vs corn/grain fed) produced more healthy omega 3 fatty acids.  The general idea is that if the animal is healthy, the meat it produces will be healthy!  We made some without almonds because our host, Julie, is allergic and I don't eat a lot of nuts so I thought I wouldn't like it. Of course, I also was very picky at how I ate them. But, I found just popping the whole thing in my mouth to be the best way to eat them. Surprisingly, I found the ones with the almonds to be even more delicious. I think that everyone was in agreement that there weren't enough bacon wrapped dates!  This is definitely worth repeating.

Summer Squash Caprese Noodle Salad:

4-6 zucchini/yellow squash julienne, 

1 cup tomatoes diced, 

1/4 c basil thinly sliced, 

1/4 c EVOO, 

salt and pepper. 

Peel and julienne the squash to the width of fettuccine. You can use a vegetable peeler or cheese grater if you don't have a julienne peeler. Combine the rest of the ingredients and toss.

Feedback: I think we ended up using zucchini for this, but I'm not sure. I thought it was okay. But it seems like a lot of other people really enjoyed it. I would probably try it again.
Additional feedback from Jennifer: I LOVED this salad.  I thought the zucchini (which we did use) was an amazing addition and have started adding it to my own salads.  I use a cheese grater to create thin strips of vegetable and find that this method works for all sorts of veggies IE: carrots, cucumber, etc.

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese: 

1 spaghetti squash, 

salt and pepper, 

1 lb ground meat of your choice, 

add tomato sauce of your choice (homemade or store bought as long as it is paleo). 

Prepare squash by cutting in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, place both halves face down on baking sheet and roast at 375 for 35-45 mins until the flesh of the squash becomes translucent and the "noodles" easily separate. Prepare ground meat and tomato sauce as you normally would. Serve squash in place of traditional spaghetti.

Feedback: Well, we couldn't find spaghetti squash. I suspect that was because it is a seasonal vegetable and most people were probably looking for it in organic markets. Of course, some people were able to find it a day later and even a few weeks after the play date. But, again, not necessarily an organic or local one. Anyway, instead we made Peppers Stuffed with Bolognese. So, basically the same idea but in a red or green bell pepper and then baked in the oven. These were really delicious and I would have gone back for seconds if I weren't so lazy and didn't want to get up. Plus, I have reflux and I think half a pepper should have been more than enough. I would definitely make this meal for my family and suggest it to others.  This recipe also reheats well, so it is great for leftovers.

Melon Gazpacho: 

6 cups watermelon seeded and cubed, 

2 medium cucumbers peeled seeded and cubed, 

1 honeydew melon cubed, 

1/4 c fresh basil, 

1/4 cup fresh mint, 

2 TBSP minced shallot, 

1/4 cup chopped parsley, 

3 TBSP red wine vinegar, 

2 TBSP EVOO, 

3/4 tsp salt. 

Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Work in batches so that it doesn't become too full or else you will have a mess. Stir together and mix in salt to taste.

Feedback: I did not try this cold. But, in case you haven't realized, I am a picky eater. Others seemed to have enjoyed it. I think it was a great idea as an end to the meal. And based on my memory on what it tasted like before chilled, it must have been very refreshing.
More feedback from Jennifer: I found this to be a little too sweet to think of as a soup.  It tasted nice and was very smooth and refreshing so I imagine it would work well as a summer side dish.

Overall this Playdate was a great success. All meals were family friendly and not too labor intensive. I would definitely encourage others to try a few of these recipes out and let us know your thoughts. All recipes were derived from the Practical Paleo cookbook (well, except the bacon wrapped dates). Visit here for more details http://balancedbites.com/start-here. 

If you attended this playdate please provide your personal reviews of these foods (or anything else) in the comments below!

Cooking Playdate: Pizza Party

This latest play date was planned fairly quickly, but worked itself out amazingly.

So, who doesn’t love pizza? And isn’t it like an American staple? But, I’m sure it could be remixed in a few different ways so that we could have a few healthy options to serve our children.

We decided to make a few crust options and then work out the toppings as we went along. I also brought a few tomato sauce options for us to choose from.

Our first pizza was made by Kim from a recipe in her Baby Cakes recipe book. This was a gluten free option. Kim also opted to divide her dough in half to provide more variety. Just to keep with the theme, she even used dairy free cheese, daiya.

Now that I think about it, I think I forgot to try this option.

Our next tasting was zucchini pizza bites. For this we ended up spreading different types of cheese on top. We used goat cheese, mozzarella, daiya, and even fresh mozzarella. The recipe calls to broil the zucchini first, but we all agreed that we liked it without that step. I think I would play with this recipe more for an appetizer or hors d’oeuvres.

We then decided to take a crack at a cauliflower crust. This option was pretty tasty. While we used frozen cauliflower for our version, I think I would go with fresh. The recipe doesn’t specify, but my thought is that the vegetable doesn’t retain as much water as the frozen and would create a crisper end product. I may have to try this recipe a few times before I decide though.

One of our other options was a pre made whole wheat flat crust option. We ended up doing half cheese and half Hawaiian on here. I happen to love how this crust tastes, but thanks to forgetting to put the timer on, this one probably came out too soon. It also appeared to be very done even though the pineapples and ham may have needed a bit more time. Well, at least we know for next time.

And last but not least, we took a crack at one of my favorite pizzas, California Pizza Kitchen’s Jamaican Jerk Chicken. This was very delicious. This pie went so, so fast! And that was after we had eaten all of the other pizza, a mom had left, and another mom didn’t have any due to not eating meat. I think if I made this again I would actually read the recipe instead of just winging it. We used the Jamaican Jerk Sauce instead of making the Caribbean Sauce in the recipe. We also used a premade dough from Whole Foods that was very good.

Overall, I really enjoyed this play date and probably wouldn’t mind repeating it or these recipes. Also, during these play dates, I like to discuss a topic to get to know each other better. The topic for this event was, “The Most Fun You’ve Ever Had” and of course we got off topic because we ended up discussing weddings. But, I figured I would share a teaser from my first cruise. So, the next time you see me, ask me about the time I got kicked off of an island  .

If you attended this playdate please provide your personal reviews of these foods (or anything else) in the comments below!

Tagged as: pizza

Cooking Playdate: No-Bake Sweets

This month’s MLC Play Date featured No-Bake Sweets. The idea was to have this one right before Valentine’s Day, but we unfortunately had to postpone it a week or two.

The way this play date ran, each mom teamed up with another mom to bring the ingredients for a specific recipe, as well as demonstrate or prepare it the day of. This one didn’t run as smoothly as the last one, but all in all, we did enjoy the sweets and that’s all that really counts.

Here’s a list of the recipes we used as well as links back to the blog where they were found.

Fudge – Prepared by Lauren & Takisha

• 3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup agave
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup sunflower butter

Directions:

1. Place the coconut into a high powered food processor.
2. Blend on high for 5-10 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides every few minutes.
3. When the mixture becomes runny you      will then have coconut butter (see video above this recipe).
4. Remove coconut butter from food      processor and place it into a medium bowl. Add all the remaining other      ingredients and mix well.
5. Press fudge into a small dish      lined with parchment paper.
6. Place in freezer for 10 minutes, remove and cut into 15 small pieces.

Feedback – This was the biggest hit of the day. We were all amazed at how good it turned out and was so quick and simple to make. I have to give most of the credit to Lauren, as she was the one who mostly prepared this dish while I ran around delegating. I really would make this over and over again!

Yogurt Covered Strawberries - Prepared by Debora & Stella

• strawberries
• yogurt
• vanilla to taste

Directions:

1. Cut tops off of berries. Dip the berries into yogurt and place on cookie tray in the freezer until firm. Repeat process until the berries have your desired amount of yogurt shell. I dipped mine twice.
2. Store in the freezer.
3. These are best served after sitting out for a few minutes.

Feedback – I think these could have turned out better, but it’s my fault as I don’t think I bought the right yogurt. Apparently full fat yogurt works best. And it’s funny that I didn’t realized how frozen the strawberries would be considering they were stuck in the freezer for a bit.

Avocado Pudding - Prepared by Kim & Emily

• 2 avocados, ripe
• 2 medium bananas, ripe
• 6-8T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1t cinnamon

Almond milk for consistency

Agave to sweeten

Directions:

1. In a food processor, combine the avocado + banana and process until smooth.  Scrape down the sides of bowl as necessary.
2. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and protein powder [if using].  Process again until smooth.
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve and add any topping you like.
4. Store in a sealed container and eat within 2-3 days.

 Feedback – I guess chocolate wins again. This was really delicious, and my inspiration for this play date. Although, everyone did have a different ingredient that stood out to them and the ladies did admit that it would have been better if the bananas were more ripe. But, overall, I would definitely make this recipe. Hey, Kim made it twice before we even had the play date!

Banana Ice Cream - Prepared by Colleen

• Peel your bananas first.
• Cut them into small pieces.
•  Freeze for just 1-2 hours on a plate.
•  Blend, blend, blend – scraping down the bowl when they stick.
•  Enjoy the magic moment when they turn into ice cream!

***Frozen raspberries were also added to make another version

Feedback – See how these play dates work, this was a roll over from our smoothie play date! Of course it was enjoyed so much that it had to be repeated. Only Colleen had the good idea to do a flavored one and I really loved the addition of the frozen raspberries!

Coconut Whip Cream - Prepared by Katie

• 1 (14 oz) can Coconut Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Place the can in the refrigerator overnight
2. Open the can and scoop the thick, creamy white part off the top (leaving the opaque, watery bit in the can)
3. In a large bowl, whip the coconut cream on high until medium/firm peaks form (you can pull the whip out and turn it up and the peak stays put)
4. Enjoy!! Lasts for about 3 days in the fridge, but will need a stir or rewhip

Feedback – I know I probably shouldn’t add this since we didn’t actually get to sample it. But, there was an attempt, and that counts for something. Apparently, it really does matter how you store the can in the fridge and that can play a part in the remaining steps. However, if your whip cream flops, you do still have whipped butter, and that is worth sampling!

Please let me know if you end up trying any of these recipes and your experiences. I’m so interested in the techniques you used and other advice that you can add. I can’t wait to keep on exploring new foods and recipes!

If you attended this playdate please provide your personal reviews of these foods (or anything else) in the comments below!

Cooking Playdate: Smoothies

This Mommy Led Cooking Play Date was the jump start I needed to get me into smoothie making gear. I really needed this motivation today to start sampling different flavors and trying new things!

This time we were all in charge of bringing a recipe (if we had one) as well as 5 fruits or vegetables and any other ingredients needed to produce a smoothie. The idea was that we would share our recipe and sample others. Overall, we tried 10 different smoothies. Some were a bit freehand, so I won’t be giving actual recipes, but here are all of the combinations we sampled:

Takisha’s Smoothie blended using a hand blender:

Strawberries (frozen), Blueberries (frozen), Banana, and Plum Smart Juice (feel free to use any liquid you see fit)

Melissa’s Ice Cream in a Juicer:

Frozen Bananas

(Yes, that was it, and it was delicious!)

The following were all made in blenders:

Jennifer:

Strawberry, Banana, Pineapple, Kale, Water

Kim: (altered from this recipe to fit our needs)

Banana, Mango (frozen), oatmeal, kale (frozen), vanilla, rice milk, dates

Lauren:

Carrot juice, Orange Juice, Mango (frozen), mint (or any other herb you’d like)

Vanessa:

Plain Yogurt, Plum Smart Juice, Mixed Berries, Asian Pear (normally made with apple juice instead of Plum Smart and the Asian Pear, but we improvised)

Julie:

Ice, Spinach, Banana, Coconut Milk, Sunflower Seed Butter

Colleen:

Banana, Peaches, Mangoes, Blueberries, Strawberries, Ground Flax Seed, Wheat Germ, and Orange Juice

And with the left overs we made:

Kale, Pineapple, Banana, Coconut Milk (altered from this recipe)

Pineapple, Strawberries, Blueberries, Mango (frozen), Orange Juice

If you would like to learn about juicing vs blending, feel free to check out this website. Apparently they also have a good app you can download:http://greensmoothiesblog.com/blending-vs-juicing/

Here are also some other smoothie ideas: http://www.wholeliving.com/135929/smoothie-recipes/@center/155850/healthy-breakfasts

If you attended this playdate please provide your personal reviews of these foods (or anything else) in the comments below!