One Year Older? Wiser? Veggi-er?

On February 20th, Veggie Tales turned 1 Year Old! Happy Belated Birthday Veggie-Baby :) I was planning an elaborate blog-iversary post about the past year in Veggie-land and how far we've come as herbivores, yadda, yadda. But it seemed to come across as either "Look at us, we eat whole grains and veggies--neener, neener" or "Man, I can't believe we're still eating hot dogs and fruit snacks (and diet coke, shhhh)." So, I'm just going to say

Happy Birthday Veggie Tales!

Thank you for giving me a reason to think outside the box (Hamburger Helper box, that is) and try new things. It really has been rewarding to see small changes in my family's eating habits and my cooking habits. We have a long way to go, but I think we're accomplishing our our initial goal from the first Veggie Tales post to "be more conscious of what we are putting into our bodies." I have found it challenging and fun to make dinners centered around a certain vegetable, rather than a certain meat. I love having a pantry stocked with brown rice, bulgur wheat, quinoa, barley flour, couscous, and wheat berries. I love that we haven't been nearly as sick this winter as last (knock on wood. knock on wood again, and again). I love that the girls have pretty much stopped complaining about peppers and have just come to expect them :) And to you reading this post, thank you for coming along for the ride. Here's to many more years of veggi-liciousness!

Some of our favs from the past year:
Zesty Succotash Salad
Potato and Squash Salad
Zucchini Frittata
Baked Oatmeal Pudding
Lentils and Rice
Vegetable Lasagna
Buckwheat Crepes with Zucchini
Banana Zucchini Bread
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Zucchini Cheese Squares
Zucchini-Feta Casserole
Potato Kugel with Apples
Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies
Banana Berry Pudding
While Chili with Tomato Garnish
Comfort Couscous
Ginger Pancakes

What have been some of your favorites?

Banana Oatmeal Hotcakes with Cran-Raspberry Syrup

Now these are my kind of pancakes :) This recipe is from "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook" and I'll take these "healthy" hotcakes over the plain stuff any day. I love the texture of them from the bananas and cooked oats--which also make them moist and flavorful. The book included a recipe for Spiced Maple Syrup or it said you can top them with sliced bananas warmed in a frying pan with a little butter. Mmmm. But I loved them with my made-up Cran-Raspberry Syrup and homemade yogurt (see previous post).
Banana-Oatmeal Hotcakes
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup water
2 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 banana, peeled and mashed
1 egg, slightly beaten

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the oats and water. Microwave on high until the oats are creamy and tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and oil. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to blend.
3. Add the milk, yogurt, and mashed banana to the oats and stir until well blended. Beat in the egg.
4. Add the flour mixture to the oat mixture and stir until just moistened.
5. Place a nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Spoon 1/4 cup pancake batter onto hot pan. Cook until the top surface is bubbly and the edges lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook until the bottom is browned.

Spiced Maple Syrup
1 cup maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
5-6 whole cloves
In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, cinnamon and cloves. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and cloves. Set syrup aside and keep warm.

Lindy's Cran-Raspberry Syrup
My neighbor brought over a large bag of frozen raspberries (yeah!). I really wanted to make some jam, but I didn't have any pectin. So I thought, what would happen if I mixed in some jelled cranberry sauce? You know me--I love a good experiment. And it turned out delicious--not quite jam thickness, but a perfect syrup consistency. I put half in the fridge and half in the freezer for another day.
4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1 can jellied cranberry sauce
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat to a low boil. Boil for 1 or 2 minutes. Strain through sieve into containers (I used a larger-holed sieve so some seeds remained, but you could use a fine sieve to keep all the seeds out). Let cool. Place in refrigerator or freezer.

Homemade Yogurt

A while back, I started to get concerned about one of our breakfast eating habits--yogurt. My kids looooove Go-Gurts and would eat them every morning as part of their breakfast. Now, I was glad they were eating yogurt because they certainly need the calcium (in that they aren't very good milk-drinkers), but I was concerned about the sugar and the food coloring. I had been working hard to get rid of the sugary cereals, but I realized the sugary, colored yogurts were basically as bad. So, I decided to go "old school" and buy a yogurt maker. I was totally intimiated at first, but thanks to this post by Heidi at 101 Cookbooks, and this video at Chezus.com, I was ready to enter the world of homemade yogurt. I used Heidi's recipe and it has turned out great every time. We add honey or jam and granola to make it sweet. Riley still misses her sugar-laden green goop, but the rest of us are loving the homemade stuff. Do you make your own yogurt? Any good recipes or ideas for flavorings?
Homemade Yogurt Recipe

4 cups of fresh, organic 2% milk
1/3 cup of powdered milk
1/2 cup organic yogurt (this will be your starter)

Making yogurt begins with milk. Readers of 101 Cookbooks will not be surprised with the advice to buy organic milk that is fresh as possible. Slowly heat the milk on the stove over low-medium heat.

At this point you can choose to add powdered milk. Powdered milk creates thicker yogurt that takes less time to ferment. It's optional if you are using whole milk or two percent. Some skim and one percent milk include added milk proteins which make the product taste less watery and will behave the same way as if you added powdered milk.

For your first batch we are going to go with two-percent milk plus 1/3 cup of powdered milk. This combination of milk with the powder will produce a delicious, basic yogurt.

The most tedious thing about making yogurt is watching the milk get hot. You need it to hit 170 degrees, but not have it boil. So you want to pay attention to the pot and have a thermometer at hand. Once you've hit the target temperature, remove from heat and then wait for the milk to cool. Unless you put the pot in the refrigerator it will take some time to cool to 108-112 degrees.

If you are using existing yogurt as a starter, have it handy in a cup. When the milk is cooled to the proper temperature, mix a small amount it in with the yogurt. This will break up the yogurt and makes blending it with the rest of the milk easier. Once you add the starter, the milk can be placed in the pre-heated yogurt maker for four to eight hours. Refrigerate before serving. Makes one quart.

Southwestern Quinoa and Chickpea Salad

According to the book "101 Foods That Could Save Your Life," quinoa is an amazing grain. It contains more protein than any other grain--a complete protein, containing all essential amino acids. Adding quinoa to soups, pasta dishes, or stuffings makes it easy to get more of its nutritional power in your diet every day. To preserve the nutrients and taste, it's best to buy quinoa in small amounts and to store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator or another cool, dark place.
Southwestern Quinoa and Chickpea Salad
1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cups water
4 tsp olive oil
1 cup rinsed and drained canned chickpeas
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp salt

Place quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse well with cold water. Drain and transfer to a medium saucepan.
Add the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. If all the water has not been absorbed, drain it through a fine sieve.
Place the quinoa in a medium bowl. Drizzle with the oil and toss to mix. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, garlic and salt. Toss thoroughly to mix.

Makes 4 servings.

Roasted Vegetables with Spicy Sausage Couscous

I can't believe it's almost been a month since my last post! What happened to me?! I didn't take a break from cooking, that's for sure, just a break from blogging about it I guess. And there have been a few so-so-tasting meals that I deemed not worthy of entering blogdom. And there have been a lot of throw-together meals that tasted just great, but in reality weren't recipes as all. Like tonight's dinner, for example:
Roasted Vegetables with Spicy Sausage Couscous.

Let's see...
I had a couple of sweet potatoes, a couple of carrots and a to-die-for sweet onion (from my fabulous gardener neighbor). So I peeled and chopped them up into 1-inch pieces and tossed them on a baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted them at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Meanwhile, I grabbed the couscous from the pantry and cooked 1 cup according to directions. I then sliced two spicy mango chicken sausages and sauteed them in a pan. I added a couple handfuls of fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces, and some minced garlic.

When the green beans were crisp-tender and the sausage pieces browned, I added the cooked couscous with a little salt and pepper.

To serve, I piled the couscous on a plate and topped with the roasted veggies.

See?! That's not a recipe! But, it was delicious. So I'll have to remember it....oh yeah, that's what the blog's for :)