raising4boys.com » Recipes http://www.raising4boys.com parenting tips, tricks and commentary Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:20:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Peanut Butter Rudolph Christmas Cookies http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/12/21/peanut-butter-rudolph-christmas-cookies/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/12/21/peanut-butter-rudolph-christmas-cookies/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:49:58 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/12/21/peanut-butter-rudolph-christmas-cookies/ Here’s a quick idea for some holiday baking fun…

I awoke the other day to my wife in the kitchen making these:

You can either use store bought cookie dough, or you can whip up a batch peanut butter cookies yourself. You’ll also need mini-pretzels, chocolate chips, and red M&Ms.

Step 1: Shape the dough into reindeer head-shaped triangles like these:

Step 2: Insert the pretzels and bake.

Step 3: Insert chocolate chips (eyes) and red M&Ms (nose) into the warm cookies.

Step 4: Eat them.

That’s it. As our five year old would say, “Easy-peesy, lemon squeezy!”

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/12/21/peanut-butter-rudolph-christmas-cookies/feed/ 3 Making Chili With Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/11/24/making-chili-with-leftover-thanksgiving-turkey/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/11/24/making-chili-with-leftover-thanksgiving-turkey/#comments Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:19:34 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/11/24/making-chili-with-leftover-thanksgiving-turkey/ I love chili. As far as I’m concerned, nothing warms the soul quite like a steaming hot bowl of chili. So when we were looking for something to do with our leftover Thanksgiving turkey, my mind naturally drifted to… Chili!

I’ve written in the past about our Super Bowl chili recipe, which is one of my all-time favorites. It’s very simple, yet delicious. Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe:

1 lb. ground beef chopped turkey
1 cup chopped onions
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14-16 oz. can diced tomatoes (or break up if whole)
1 14-16 oz. can chili beans
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. oregano

In the interest of health, we often swap ground turkey in for ground beef. So why not try chopped Thanksgiving turkey?

Based on the amount of turkey that we had left over (see below), we figured that we had about enough for a quadruple batch:

Thus, we broke out the ingredients and got to work:

Here’s a quick look at what it looks just prior to cooking:

Because the turkey had already been cooked and seasoned, I decided to let it simmer extra long (about two hours) before serving. Thus, by the time it was ready to eat, there wasn’t so much as a trace of “Thanksgiving” flavor — it had been fully replaced with chili flavor. Once it’s done, it can be served in a bowl (with cheese, sour cream, chopped green onions, etc.) or plain over chips like our ten year old likes it:

All in all, this was a very simple and delicious way to use up our leftover turkey. Highly recommended!

As an aside, there are few things in life more rewarding than throwing together a big pot of turkey chili while a three year old stands on a kitchen stool repeatedly asking “Can I have some more turkey, daddy?” :)

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/11/24/making-chili-with-leftover-thanksgiving-turkey/feed/ 0 Bananas ala Kid http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/02/08/bananas-ala-kid/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/02/08/bananas-ala-kid/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2006 12:11:10 +0000 mom http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/02/08/bananas-ala-kid/ Our four year old has a discriminating palate. In other words, he’s a VERY picky eater. I keep telling myself that there’s nothing unusual about this. Lots of parents are in the same boat. But this doesn’t make it any less frustrating. My first priority is to not make his eating habits become a battle, as I know that I’ll lose. The second priority is to make sure that he gets proper nutrition. This is the biggest challenge. And the third priority is to keep introducing and reintroducing (and reintroducing, and reintroducing, and so on) foods that he refuses to eat in the hope that he’ll try them and like them.

To make a long story short, I’ve had to come up with some clever ways to get nutritious food to pass his lips and reach his belly. Here’s a simple, fun, and yummy recipe that he and I came up with, and which he always devours.

Bananas ala (Your Child’s Name Here)

Slice a banana
Put a dollop of peanut butter on each of the banana slices
Place a single M&M in the center (or use chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles)
Top with a few colorful sprinkles
Enjoy!!!

Note: You can use apple slices instead of the banana (Apples ala Kid!). But my son insists on having his apple slices peeled — this may or may not be necessary for your picky eater.

I know what you’re thinking… “What’s with all the sugar?” Well, sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. And sugar is not always the enemy — in this case it’s a welcome ally. Moderation is the key.

When I get really irritated with my son’s stubborn ways, I’m comforted by the fact that he (probably) won’t be eating this culinary masterpiece at his wedding reception. Rather, he’ll (hopefully) prefer more traditional fare. At the rate we’re going, however, the caterer might want to have some bananas and peanut butter on hand, just in case.

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/02/08/bananas-ala-kid/feed/ 1 Super Bowl Chili Recipe http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/02/01/super-bowl-chili-recipe/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/02/01/super-bowl-chili-recipe/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2006 16:59:05 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/02/01/super-bowl-chili-recipe/ Just in time for your Super Bowl party (or just dinner)… Our old standby chili recipe. It’s very easy to make (just add one of everything!), popular with the whole family, and delicious just about anytime. Without further ado, here’s what you need:

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onions
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14-16 oz. can diced tomatoes (or break up if whole)
1 14-16 oz. can chili beans
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. oregano

Brown the meat and onions in a large pan and put them in a pot. Then add the rest of the ingredients, stir well and simmer for at least 15-20 minutes.

Notes: We usually replace the ground beef with ground turkey — you can’t tell the difference, and it’s a whole lot healthier. Also, this recipe doubles or triples (and beyond) very well.

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