How to fill one meal with TONS of hidden veggies- For The Picky Child! (And Parent!)

Let's face it- some children just shut down when that veggie is added to their plate! Here is a simple Mom Recipe that incorporates tons of hidden veggies and still tastes great!

 

 

 

Loaded Shepards Pie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef (Or left over beef pot roast works great too!!)
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 cup green pepper finely chopped
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 3-4 Large Carrots
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick) can sub Margarine
• 1/4 milk
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 4-5 carrots shredded
• 1/2 cup of corn
• 3 cups of mushroom gravy (you can use packets or I provided recipe at bottom)
• Salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, cayenne

 1. Cut potatoes in quarters (keep skins on), boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes). (Place fork in quarter if it slides off for and/or breaks-they are done.) Add shredded carrots for the 3 mins.

 2. Brown ground beef. Add onions and green pepper halfway through browning the beef. Set aside. Season with above seasonings (easy on the cayenne)

 3. Make your mushroom gravy. Heat oven to 350.

 4. Mix Gravy with meat. Line the bottom of a 6x9 pan with meat. Add corn on top of that.

 5. Drain your potatoes and carrots after they are tender (about 20 mins) Place in large bowl- add sour cream, milk, and butter. Beat potatoes and carrots until creamy. 

 6. Layer Potatoes on top of corn. Smooth over top to make even over all meat. Place in oven uncovered for 30 mins or until potatoes have a golden crust.

Mushroom Gravy

1 cup butter 

1 cup flour

4 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

1/2 cup of diced fresh mushrooms

Melt butter in a saucepan then add flour. Blend together until no lumps are visible. Add salt and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until mixture starts to brown. Turn heat to low and slowly add broth, stirring constantly. Turn heat back up to medium add mushrooms and continue cooking and stirring until gravy boils and thickens. Adjust seasonings to taste.

 As long as you chop them up small your kids have no clue all of the goodness they are eating- the shredded carrot even looks like cheese!! I also offer my daughter the raw carrots that I shred as I am making the dinner! Veggies can be slipped into simple yummy meals! Had to make a double batch of this for dinner tonight! Everyone loved it!

Get creative- add those veggies in there and don't make eating your veggies an option!

To Juice or Not to Juice

I am 13 lbs down on my juice adventure- That was after 5 days of juice fasting- and 2 weeks of juicing for breakfast so far. My migraines have significantly improved- and over all I feel MUCH MUCH BETTER! My goal is an 80 lb loss- with change in diet- 2 juice fasting days a week and exercise.

Here is the link to more information:

http://www.squidoo.com/juice-recipes

Also if you are interested in what started me on this journey it was Jenni Pearson with her tremendous weight loss, Jerri Moulder, and this video:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/209096/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead

I strongly suggest watching it.

Mmmm Mmmm GREAT!

So when your husband and you are fighting over who gets to scrape the bottom of the pan for the last bite: Then it becomes something you should blog about- 

My version of Chicken Divan

Ingredients

• 1 head of Broccoli (fresh)
• 3 Chicken breast filleted in half
• 1 condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 1/2 cup lowfat mayo
• 1 cup grated mild Cheddar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Few dashes of garlic powder, and onion powder
• Salt and pepper
• 3 -4 sprays of I can't believe its not butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, Cheddar, lemon juice, paprika, granulated garlic, and onion powder,  salt and pepper, to taste, and butter. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and chicken. Mix well with a spatula.
Place chicken into an 11 by 7-inch casserole dish or 2 (9-inch) square disposable aluminum foil pans. Cover with mixture - making sure chicken is coated on both sides. Pat down evenly and smooth with a spatula. Cook for 20 mins. COVERED.
Add fresh chopped broccoli. (flip chicken) And mix broccoli into the sauce. Return to oven and cook for another 15. UNCOVERED. (At this point you can also add extra cheese to the top and/or homemade breadcrumbs)

Serve over brown rice. Or white rice, noodles, and biscuits!

Homemade bread crumbs

• 5-6 slices of stale bread
• Olive oil
• Granulated garlic
• Cayenne
•  Onion Powder

Tear bread into thumb sized sections. Drizzle olive oil over top. Sprinkle Seasoning on top (Easy on the Cayenne) Mix. Broil until lightly browned on the outside.

Great way to fit those veggies in for your picky eaters!!

Happy 2012

First off let my give props to Bichelmeyer Meats!! Finally a reasonably priced meat market that doesn't live inside your local grocery store!! QUALITY MEAT! With a warm and friendly atmosphere!! They have everything you could imagine. Hubby and I had them pick out 2 ribeye- BEST STEAK OF MY LIFE PEOPLE!! So Check them out!! (Also have a yummy taco stand where you can order tacos while you order your meat!! Who can go wrong with that)

BICHELMEYER MEATS


Also we purchased a steak seasoning from Oklahoma Joes- made by Cow Town!! Mmmmmm! I haven't ever complained about anything I have purchased from there considering from what I have researched it is the #1 BBQ joint in KC- been on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives- and made Anthony Bourdain's "13 Places to Eat Before You Die".

A childs version of your meal can always be rolled up in a tortilla- Steak Fajitas- Easy to handle, with a way to sneak in those veggies!!

Also for those POTATO CHIP LOVING CHILDREN!!

Sensible portions makes wonderful veggie straws that look like french fries and have the same crunch as a potato chip!!
Lord knows if my child had it her way- Potato Chips would be the meal of Choice for breakfast lunch and dinner! You can find them at Trader Joes- or I have seen them at Costco.

That is all for today- going to make sure I keep up on my blog!!

Homemade Mac and Cheese

So it's not the most healthy- but boy is it delish! (Smaller portions help cut calories!)


1 pt of heavy whipping cream
2 1lb bags of your favorite cheese (cheddar types are usually smoother and shredded usually speeds up the melting time) I usually use kraft triple cheddar with a touch of cream cheese- and then add whatever fresh cheese I have in the fridge cut up.
1/2 tbs of butter- most people use more but to me it gets too greasy and I don't need the added fat!
fresh pepper
cayenne- 3 or 4 dashes- does not add heat- more for taste
paprika
sea salt
a tiny dash of garlic and onion powder

• Combine all ingredients in saucepan and put on low- stir often.- you can raise heat slightly but make sure to watch that your cheese sauce doesn't burn!

• Keep stirring until your sauce is almost completely smooth- turn heat all the way down
• Boil noodles (least amount of time given) I LOVE to use whole wheat noodles!
• Strain noodles and place in large casserole dish
• Drizzle cheese sauce over top and mix
• If your child is NOT a veggie person- here is your chance to add some in! Sweet peas make an GREAT addition to this dish! I know I know I hate them too- but they just make this dish! Now is your time to add them! (any favorite veggie can be added!)
• If your sauce seems too thin- sprinkle in some more cheese- or the next step should help also.
• Add crushed crackers- potato chips- corn flakes- or bread crumbs- (over the top of entire dish) or just leave it nakie!
• Cook in oven for uncovered at 350 until top is golden (about 20 mins)

AND DONE!!!
Making it tonight- Ill post the finished product!

Every child is not YOUR child!

This can go both ways- not every child is built the same- size, shape, color- so every child will react differently to every situation. So as to say- every child likes chicken nuggets! WRONG! Meet MY child! or as to say try to get your child to eat this- it worked for my child... well... Meet MY child! Who is to say anyone is a child expert- I mean men for thousands of years have been complaining I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WOMEN!! It has only been 16 months and I can't figure out my child!! This blog is simply for situations I have expierenced with my child- along with funnies, and at home recipes. If you can find it useful GREAT! If not, at least I hope you can get a great recipe or a laugh to lighten your day!