Roasted Vegetable Macaroni and Cheese

Loaded with veggies, no butter cheese sauce - It's hard to believe this mac and cheese could be good. It wasn't good though - it was AMAZING. Zachary had 3 helpings and said it was the best mac and cheese he has ever had! I felt good fixing this for my family since it was loaded with veggies, whole grain noodles and the cheese sauce wasn't full of awful ingredients! This will definitely become a staple in our house!

Ingredients:

1 cup broccoli florets, chopped into small chunks

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow squash, quartered and diced

10 baby carrots, sliced thinly

2 cups whole wheat pasta (elbow macaroni, rotini, penne, etc.)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk (I use 1%)

2 cups (8 oz.) Sargento® Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat bread crumbs)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Set a medium pot of salted water to boil. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining with aluminum foil and coating with a little olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.

Toss broccoli, red pepper, squash and carrots onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until vegetables have softened. Remove from oven and set aside.

Once water is boiling, lower heat slightly and add pasta, cooking according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, stirring constantly until mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheddar cheese until well distributed and melted.  Add salt and pepper. Add macaroni and vegetables.

Place mixture in a large casserole dish and sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. Place under the broiler in your oven (500 degrees) for 3-4 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.


We added red pepper flakes to ours at the table to keep it kid friendly. Yum!

recipe courtesy of http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2013/02/spicy-roasted-vegetable-macaroni-and-cheese.html
Comfort of Cooking

Italian Sausage Hoagies - kid approved

I got this recipe from my Cooking Light Magazine and this was a "kid tested & approved" recipe.  I thought I'd try it.  My 7 year old son is super picky but my 2 year old daughter eats anything, so it seemed like a good choice.   And the added plus is that one hoagie is only 300 calories and 7g of fat.  Super quick to make too.  We used 4 sausages to make this but since the kids only split one, we had enough for lunches for us adults the next day -- win win! 

Ingredients:
4 hoagie rolls, halved lengthwise (we only used 3 for dinner and saved the next one for lunch the next day)
4 links of sweet turkey italian sausage, cut into 1" thick pieces (they get a little mushy but it's ok)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (to hide it from picky kids)
1 TSP minced garlic
1 cup marinara sauce (more or less depending on preference, we used a bit more)
1 small red pepper, finely chopped (again, to hide it from picky kids)
1/4 TSP black pepper
1 cup shredded part skim mozz cheese


1.  Preheat broiler to high.
2.  Hollow out the top halves of the rolls.   Arrange the rolls, cut sides up on a baking sheet.  Broil 1-2 minutes until toasted (pay close attention so they don't burn).  Set aside.
3.   Heat a large non stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add sausage to the pan, cook a few minutes or until slightly browned, stirring occasionally.  
4.  Add the onion & garlic to the sausage, cook 1 minute longer.
5.  Add the marinara sauce, bell pepper and black pepper.  Bring to a low boil.    Reduce heat and simmer until the pepper is tender (or in my case, let cook on "warm" on the stove for 30 minutes because the hubby was stuck in awful traffic, lol).
6. Arrange about 3/4 cup sausage mixture over bottom half of each roll, sprinkle each with some cheese.  
7.  Place on baking sheet, broil 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Top with the top halves of rolls.   

Pancake Bites with Turkey Sausage

I saw this idea on Pinterest and got so excited. My kids absolutely love pancakes (and sausage!) and these are perfect for busy school mornings! You just pull them out of the freezer, pop them in the microwave for 1 minute and you have an easy homemade breakfast. I can't keep up with the demand in my house.

These bites are very versatile so you can use frozen sausage patties (I like turkey), blueberries, sliced strawberries or even mini chocolate chips.

Fluffy pancake with a bite of savory turkey sausage - yum!



If you're feeling ambitious, you can make a homemade pancake mix or use a pre-made mix. My go-to is Heart Smart Bisquick mix. (Follow the recipe on the side of the box for pancakes).

Here is my favorite pancake recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg - I use egg substitute

1 cup milk, plus more if necessary - I use 1%

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon all natural sugar - I use pure cane

 

Directions:

 

Whisk together egg and milk. Slowly stir dry ingredients until moistened.

 

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Take a frozen turkey sausage patty and break it into bite sized pieces. Place a piece on the bottom* of each muffin tin.

 

Cover with about 1 tbsp of pancake batter.

 

*If using fruit, put pancake batter in tin first, then top with fruit. The fruit tends to stick to the bottom of the muffin tins.

 

Cook bites for 12 minutes. Serve with maple syrup for dipping!

 

To Freeze: Let bites cool completely. Place on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for 10 minutes. Place them in a freezer safe container or freezer bag.

Turkey Pepperoni Pizza Mini Muffins

This recipe came from Everyday with Rachel Ray and has circulated around Pinterest. My kids have been complaining about their almost daily lunch of PB&J so I decided to give these a try, with my own changes, to give them a lunchtime variety. One great thing is they freeze so you can make them whenever and then just pop them in the microwave or toaster oven when you're ready to use them!

This recipe makes 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt (my addition, optional)
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten (can use egg substitute)
2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup turkey pepperoni, diced into small pieces
1 cup store-bought pizza sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

To Freeze
Arrange pizza muffins on a cookie sheet. After they are completely cooled, freeze for 1 hour. Then place in air tight freezer safe container or zip-lock bags.

Baked Mini Corndogs

My kids absolutely love corn dogs and could eat them daily if I let them. In the past I bought store brand corn dogs as an easy lunch "treat" for them, but always felt guilt for how unhealthy they are. So, I decided to start making my own! These are so easy and the kids don't seem to mind that they aren't fried or full of fat. Each corn dog (using the ingredients I list below) are about 50 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. Granted, a corn dog is a corn dog so I still feed these to them in moderation.

Ingredients:

Box of corn bread mix - I use Krusteez brand Fat Free Honey Cornbread

6 Hot dogs, sliced into 5 pieces - I use Oscar Myer Fat Free Turkey Hot dogs

Directions: Make cornbread according to directions on the package.

Spray a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each muffin tin, about half way, with muffin mixture. Press a piece of the hot dog into each tin and then top with a bit more cornbread mix.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 30 to 32 corndogs

**These freeze really well!**